Estée Lauder is boldly going where no beauty brand has gone before by partnering with the International Space Station (ISS).
The maker of MAC and Jo Malone London will become the ISS' exclusive partner for its Sustainability Challenge, which calls on innovators to address the plastic crisis.
Estée Lauder will provide funding for the awarded proposals that pledge to reduce plastic waste introduction into the environment; seek alternative feedstocks and pathways for polymer production beyond petrochemicals; and reduce virgin plastic manufacturing.
The projects will be evaluated by a panel of judges and will be revealed on 19 March 2022 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Florida.
The latest partnership with the ISS is not Estée Lauder's first foray into extraterrestrial marketing.
Last year, Estée Lauder went interstellar with a marketing stunt that saw its Advanced Night Repair serum land on the ISS as part of NASA’s drive to commercialise low-Earth orbit and open the station up to business in a beauty industry first.
Stéphane de La Faverie, Group President of Estée Lauder Companies, described its current venture as an initiative that "could be truly transformative" for the company, consumers and the planet.