SPICE, the Sustainable Packaging Initiative for Cosmetics co-founded by sustainability consulting firm Quantis and L’Oréal in 2018, is launching its first eco-design tool.
The science-based tool, available online at https://open-spice.com/tool/ is designed to enable cosmetics packaging development teams to make more sustainable design choices by measuring the environmental footprint of cosmetics packaging from production to end-of-life. It calculates a pack’s environmental footprint by taking into account 16 environmental indicators that asses impact on climate change, water use, biodiversity and resource depletion among others.
“The SPICE tool delivers robust environmental metrics and actionable insights allowing packaging designers to make resilient decisions,” explains Quantis CEO Dimitri Caudrelier in a statement. “This is a huge step toward SPICE’s mission to collectively shape the future of sustainable packaging.”
The tool comes in two versions: a free demo and a Pro version. Alongside this, SPICE has published a set of best practice materials, including guidelines for environmental claims and a guide on recyclability that clearly defines whether or not a packaging is recyclable.
“The cost of developing a robust environmental footprinting tool has been a barrier for many small and medium-sized cosmetics companies that want to implement eco-design in packaging development. Making the SPICE tool publicly available helps the whole industry move forward (…) not only by providing an innovative eco-design tool, but also by showing that cooperation is the most effective way to move forward. It is an important milestone in the ecological transition of the beauty industry,” noted Patrick O’Quin, President of French beauty federation FEBEA.
"As the co-founder of SPICE, L’Oréal is proud to see the initiative uniting the cosmetics industry around a shared vision of sustainable packaging,” added Philippe Bonningue, Group Global Director of Sustainable Packaging at L’Oréal.
The initiative counts 25 members (Albéa, Aptar, Avon, Axilone, Chanel, Clarins, Coty, Estée Lauder Companies, Heinz-Glas, Hermès Parfums, L'Occitane en Provence, L'Oréal, LVMH, Mary Kay, Groupe Pochet, Schwan Cosmetics, Shiseido, Sisley; and organizations CITEO, Cosmetic Valley, Elipso, FEBEA, FEVE, PCPC and RecyClass).
