Emma Lewisham breaks new sustainability ground with carbon positive status and 100% circular range

Natural beauty brand Emma Lewisham has pushed the sustainability needle with the launch of a new 100% circular product range and the achievement of carbon positive status.

Revealing the launch of a new refillable format and packaging ‘takeback’ scheme, the New Zealand- founded brand also called on other beauty companies to join it prioritising refills over recycling, which it says should now be considered “the final port of call.”

Emma Lewisham’s new refillable format boasts a 74% smaller carbon footprint than the original packaging.

The brand has also partnered with specialist recycler TerraCycle on the launch of the ‘Emma Lewisham Beauty circle’ takeback scheme, to ensure that all non-reusable packaging components are responsibly recycled.

It has also measured, reduced and positively offset emissions throughout its entire supply chain, including the harvesting and production of raw ingredients used, transportation, product packaging and end-of-life for each product.

The brand has also spent more than a year working with independent environmental certification agency, Toitū Envirocare, to measure the carbon emissions emitted at each stage of its product’s lifecycle and been independently verified as carbon positive at a product level.

All operations are also now powered by renewable energy.

In a bit to spearhead change across the wider beauty industry, Emma Lewisham has also publicly released the IP for its circular designed product packaging and carbon positive model in a bid to enable other beauty companies to capitalise on its investment and spearhead change within the wider industry.

Available from today, the blueprint includes refill designs, sterilising processes, recycling and returns processes, packaging supplier connections, take back procedures and carbon calculation guides.

Commenting on the move, brand founder Emma Lewisham urged other beauty brands to join it on its “journey to circularity.”

“It is no longer acceptable for brands to claim recyclability and rely on differentiating local kerbside recycling programs,” she said.

“Virtually no kerbside recycling systems actually recycle beauty packaging. Although products might ‘technically’ be recyclable, the economics just don’t stack up - so to landfill it goes.

“If we are to ensure packaging is recycled, brands must take ownership of their materials and work with customers to take back all packaging globally to be recycled through specialised recycling partners who ensure this happens.

“Labelling a beauty product ‘100% recyclable’ without a takeback programme and reputable recycling partner in place - should be considered an irresponsible business practice.”

“We genuinely want to see change. The problems we face are so much greater than the success of one business or brand, and if we are going to solve them, collaboration is key.

“We must tear down the barriers of competition once and for all – unifying around a greater vision where future generations may thrive. This has to be the future of beauty.”