Sol de Janeiro and Smashbox are among the beauty companies which have donated US$83m in excess inventory as part of a new initiative that aims to help prevent unused stock from going to waste.
Vessel, a new start-up that aims to tackle the $163bn-a-year issue, has so far prevented 2,000 tons of stock from going to landfills or incineration.
Its artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled service is designed to help large enterprises give away unwanted inventory at scale.
The Estée Lauder Companies-owned make-up brand Smashbox has already put 10,440 products into the hands of 5,544 people at its pilot Impact Day in Los Angeles, US, with Vessel.
“Smashbox has always had a big heart, and the opportunity to put our products into the hands of people who would genuinely enjoy and benefit from them could not have made me or this brand happier,” said Davis Factor, founder of Smashbox.
In total, more than 5.5 million people have so far received products via Vessel’s initiative.
“The world’s leading brands have always wanted to do more with their excess inventory, but until now, donating at scale has not been a secure, practical or economically viable option,” said Teddy Raskin, co-founder and CEO of Vessel.
“We built Vessel so that brands no longer have to choose between doing what is right for their business and what consumers expect.
“If we redirect even 1% of wasted excess inventory, that is more than $1.6bn in products reaching people who need them, at a lower cost than destroying it.”
Vessel’s technology matches brands with suitable non-profits, based on a database with 550,000 organisations and human review.
The start-up also arranges the logistics, including freight booking and tracking from pick-up to delivery.
Vessel, which works with medical product and raw ingredient suppliers, as well as beauty brands, has raised $5m of seed funding led by HG Ventures to grow the initiative.
Investors also include Flex Capital, Ford Street Ventures, and I2BF Global Ventures.
Advisors to the start-up include Debra Perelman, a former president and CEO of Revlon, Pamela Gill Alabaster, a former chief sustainability officer of Kenvue.
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