Another stride toward environmentally responsible packaging and practices has been made. The members of the Sustainable Packaging Initiative for Cosmetics (SPICE), co-founded by L’Oréal and environmental sustainability consulting firm Quantis, say they will work toward a common goal: to collectively shape the future of sustainable packaging.

These leaders say they are taking measures to progress on their path to sustainability as responsible companies, and to respond to the increasing number of consumers, investors and other stakeholders who want to know more about the environmental performance of products on the market. Believing that packaging is a visible reminder that products have an impact on the environment, these stakeholder groups expect transparency in order to understand if cosmetics brands are making commitments and to learn how they plan on achieving these targets to reduce impacts on the environment.

SPICE is co-founded by L’Oréal and Quantis, and now counts 11 members including cosmetic companies Avon Products, Inc., Clarins Group, Coty Inc., L’Occitane en Provence, L’Oréal, LVMH, Shiseido and Sisley, as well as Cosmetic Valley (French “competitiveness cluster” for perfumes and cosmetics) and FEBEA (French Federation of Beauty Companies). Cosmetics products manufacturers as well as cosmetics packaging suppliers can join the initiative as corporate members.

SPICE members say the group will help the cosmetics industry make significant progress in three key areas: 1) guiding sustainable packaging policy development based on robust and harmonized methodology, recognized by the sector; 2) driving packaging innovation based on objective eco-design criteria to progress toward more sustainable solutions; and 3) meeting consumers’ expectations by improving communication and providing more clarity on the environmental performance of products.