Amorepacific becomes first Korean cosmetics company to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill international certification

27 Sep 2022 --- Amorepacific’s research lab and core production site, Osan Beauty Park, has been awarded a silver rating from UL Solutions for a high recycling rate of 94% of total waste generated, making it the first cosmetics company to obtain an international certification for Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWTL). 

The ZWTL certification is founded on building a circular economy by converting waste generated at establishments into resources. Amorepacific reportedly converts 4,043 metric tons out of 4,292 metric tons of waste into resources.

Amore Beauty Park classifies waste generated during production into 21 types and recycles them in 12 different ways at its waste recycling center in South Korea.

The certification is an achievement in part of “A More Beautiful Promise” that Amorepacific declared last year. The company aims to support partners in developing green packaging. It also consults on environmental laws related to risk management while leading ESG management in the beauty industry with eco-friendly shared growth programs. 

Cosmetics circularity
To achieve zero landfill, the company disinfects glass bottles used in experiments, incinerates them as specified waste and recycles them into glass.

Since 2021, Amorepacific has recycled more than half the dust waste as earth and sand material for foundation work in construction, such as asphalt.

Amorepacific recycles 4,043 tons out of 4,292 tons of waste generated into resources (Credit: Amorepacific).In addition, the company is making efforts to reduce waste generated while operating establishments and across the entire process of product manufacturing. It developed lighter products by changing the method of manufacturing product containers, thereby reducing the use of plastic while maintaining the product’s quality.

It also developed a metal-free pump that expels product content, allowing customers to easily separate and recycle containers after using them.

The company aims to establish a sustainable supply chain that enables resource circulation throughout its entire business activities – from product development to waste disposal and to reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions from waste.

Amorepacific has pursued “sustainable packaging development (SEED)” in collaboration with its partners to improve the development capacity for eco-friendly packaging technology and led a total of 37 projects by 2020.

Examples include Illiyoon body wash, contained in bottles that reduce residual content, Illiyoon Ceramide Ato Bubble Wash and Shampoo in polyethylene pouch, Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Foam and Primera Black Seed Scalp Relief Shampoo refill products.

Delivering greencycles
Amorepacific internally developed its environmental management index to divert waste into resources and manage targets such as waste reduction and recycling.Amorepacific is the first cosmetics company to obtain an international certification for zero-waste-to-landfill (Credit: Amorepacific).

The company collects used cosmetic bottles and recycles them into product containers in its upcycling campaign, “Greencycle,” to reduce the impact on the environment when discarding product packaging.

It uses FSC-certified paper material (harvested and produced in a responsible manner) instead of plastic bubble wrap in the delivery stage to further eliminate plastic waste.

Moreover, Amorepacific also converted delivery boxes that were difficult to recycle because of the color coating into craft boxes, reducing more than 70% in plastic consumption in the delivery stage.

Steps on the way to zero waste
Earlier this year, as part of its environmental sustainability efforts, the company joined the EcoBeautyScore Consortium with 36 other companies and associations to develop an industry-wide environmental impact assessment and scoring system for cosmetic products.

Furthermore, the key products that fall under the parent company – Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic products, Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, Sulwhasoo Essential Balancing Emulsion and Osulloc Sejak – have been certified for reducing their carbon and water footprint.

The combined efforts of the Korean beauty company have led it to earn the ZWTL certification.

By Radhika Sikaria