L’Occitane En Provence has announced it has reached and exceeded one of its primary biodiversity goals four years earlier than originally planned.
Under its ‘Respecting Biodiversity’ pillar, in 2016, the Group said it aimed to have protected and promoted 1,000 species and varieties of plants by 2025.
Now, L’Occitane has revealed that it has succeeded in promoting and protecting 1,149 varieties and 513 different species of plants.
It said it achieved this objective by sourcing a wide range of plants for its product lines and promoting particular species or varieties through strategic partnerships and collaborations.
In Burkina Faso, L’Occitane contributed to the conservation of ten ethno-varieties of shea trees, used for the production of its fairly traded organic shea butter.
Likewise, in Crest, France, it supports peony farming via a long-term partnership with the brand’s flower grower, whose family has been working for 160 years to cultivate 300 varieties of herbaceous peonies.
And in the south of France, it collaborated with the Shared Mediterranean Conservatory to promote 141 varieties of olive trees and 52 varieties of fig trees.
Jean-Charles Lhommet, Biodiversity & Sustainable Ingredients Manager at L’Occitane, said: “In addition to being essential for one’s basic food and health needs, this diversity contributes to the beauty of the world: differences in smells, colours, textures... life would be very sad if we had only one variety of tomatoes.”
The L’Occitane Group is said to use more than 300 ingredients of natural origin in its formulas.
Its newest launch is Pressed Fruity Lipsticks (pictured), a semi-matte formula containing nourishing fruits and vegetables oils, including pomelo, carrot and grapefruit, which will be available in stores on 12 April.