Earth Day Review: Beauty Industry Stakeholders Unite; TerraCycle Influence Grows; New Sustainable Products

San Francisco, CA-based clean beauty retailer Eco Chic LLC, dba Credo, and Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay have joined with MOB Beauty and Element Packaging LLC to form Pact Collective, the first not-for-profit recycling program dedicated exclusively to the beauty industry, according to the companies’ 22 April release. Noting the estimated 120bn packages created by the beauty industry annually – “most made with virgin plastic and a very small percentage are successfully recycled” – the Collective says it aims to provide a sustainable solution for hard-to-recycle beauty packaging, including squeezable tubes, pumps and caps. Recycling bins are available in all 10 Credo stores in the US and 20 Hudson’s Bay stores in Canada, with plans to extend the program to all 87 Hudson’s Bay locations through 2021, according to the announcement. The Collective will open to other industry members later in 2021, the group says.

Unilever plc’s REN Clean Skincare is urging consumers to buy its eco-friendly products – or those of four green-minded competitors – as part of a #WeAreAllies campaign announced on 19 April. REN and allied “clean” brands Biossance (Amyris, Inc.), Caudalie, Herbivore and YOUTH TO THE PEOPLE have committed to using only packaging that is recyclable, contains recycled materials or can be reused, REN by 2022 and the rest by 2026. “Advertising the competition doesn’t make a lot of sense in traditional business. But the current environmental crisis calls for all of us to do things differently,” REN says