L’Occitane is ramping up its eco-conscious efforts with a new store dedicated to its sustainability cause.
The new concept store, dubbed #MEGA or #MakeEarthGreenAgain, is based in Hong Kong and is committed to reducing plastic waste across the country.
For the launch, the French beauty giant, helmed by chief executive of the L’Occitane Group Reinold Geiger, has joined forces with A Plastic Ocean Foundation (APO) to mark the occasion with a new upcycling project.
The initiative will turn post-consumer plastics into rPET [recycled polyethylene terephthalate] products that can be used in the manufacturing process of recyclable plastics.
In-store, shoppers can earn reward points by completing ‘green tasks’. This includes recycling their empty beauty products and filling out a personal carbon footprint evaluation.
In addition, serving as a hub for L’Occitane’s eco ventures, the destination will host the group’s entire product line, including a stand dedicated to its Eco-Refills that use 90% less plastic than a regular bottle.
“In L’Occitane, our societal and environmental commitment focuses on protection of biodiversity and reduction of our environmental carbon and plastic footprint,” said Nathaëlle Davoust, General Manager of L’Occitane Hong Kong and Macau.
“L’Occitane has signed the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.
“We share a vision of keeping plastics in the economy and out of the ocean. #MEGA Sustainability Concept Store is like our invitation to the Hong Kong public to explore how we can reduce plastic pollution together.”
L’Occitane has also committed to making all of its bottles from 100% recycled plastic alongside recycling systems in every boutique globally.
Hong Kong’s plastic crisis
Since mainland China made the decision to stop waste imports to the country, Hong Kong’s plastic crisis has been pushed to breaking point.
Hong Kong imports large volumes of plastic waste from countries such as the US, Germany and Japan and re-exports them to other countries, mainly Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.
However, its infrastructure to recycle product itself up until recently has been pitiful.
It was only in 2019 that Hong Kong celebrated the opening of its ground-breaking polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) recycling point at EcoPark – a first for the country.
Hong Kong is also working on mitigating the amount of plastic circulating in its economy by raising public awareness and driving behavioural change among consumers – something L’Occitane’s new concept store will feed into.
The country is also under pressure to make the planet an economic priority given the stricter regulations set out by international governments.
The UK has set out plans to impose a new tax in 2022 on plastic packaging sold in the UK that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.