MANILA, PHILIPPINES — L’Oréal and Watsons recently announced the kickoff of the first Green Joint Business Plan in the Philippines to accelerate sustainability in the beauty and wellness sectors. L’Oréal and Watsons are joining forces to create programs that will help tackle plastic waste, raise awareness on sustainable choices, and provide livelihood opportunities for the vulnerable population in the Philippines.
“This first green joint business plan in the Philippines is a historic milestone in the longstanding partnership between L’Oréal and Watsons in the Philippines. Beyond our responsible business practices, I’m very proud that we are coming together to be catalysts for change by acting with urgency and helping solve the pressing environmental and social issues in the Philippines. It’s the right thing to do,” said Yannick Raynaud, Country Managing Director of L’Oréal Philippines.
Danilo Chiong, Managing Director of Watsons in the Philippines, shared, “At Watsons we have updated our brand promise from ‘Look Good, Feel Great’ to ‘Look Good, Do Good, Feel Great’ to signify our strong commitment to do more sustainable practices. This first-ever green joint business plan is a comprehensive approach to driving collective impact on our planet, our people, and our products. I am inspired by the work we are doing with L’Oréal and the positive impact that we can drive in the Philippines, and hope that programs like this can inspire other companies to do what is right for the environment.”
Plastic pollution is a major challenge in the Philippines. In 2022, the Philippine government implemented the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)1 Bill for the recovery and management of post-consumer recycled plastic. In 2023, L’Oréal has recovered, upcycled, and recycled 100% of its plastic volume in the Philippines, exceeding the 20% target set by the government for the first year of implementation.
With the Green Joint Business Plan, L’Oréal, through its sustainability program L’Oréal for the Future, and Watsons, with its brand promise to “Look Good, Do Good, Feel Great,” are accelerating collective transformation towards a business model that respects planetary boundaries, empowers the business ecosystem, and reinforces commitments to drive inclusive growth.
The joint collaboration programs include:
- The Recycle for Rewards program led by Garnier, a brand under the L’Oréal Groupe. Consumers are encouraged to donate empty beauty and wellness bottles at select Watsons stores to get discounts. The initiative starts on June 2024 in 23 participating Watsons stores in Metro Manila this year.
- To help consumers make sustainable choices, L’Oréal is ramping up the listing of products under Watsons’ Sustainable Choices category with products that are refillable, made with recycled content and sustainable paper and with ingredients that are from bio-based, abundant, or circular processes. An example of this is Garnier’s Micellar water that is made of 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) PET plastic (R-PET). Cartons used in L’Oréal’s packaging are made of FSC-certified paper.
- All point-of-sale materials (POSMs) used by L’Oréal in Watsons stores are 100% eco-designed. They follow the 3R strategy that involves reducing the weight of products and packaging by designing them with smaller dimensions and lighter materials whenever possible. Additionally, L’Oréal aims to replace traditional materials with alternatives that have a better environmental footprint, making the m more suitable for reuse and recyclability.
- Watsons is also supporting L’Oréal’s Digital Beauty Academy, a social inclusion program that provides training on beauty, wellness, and social commerce with the goal of equipping individuals with valuable skills to thrive in the digital space and gain livelihood opportunities.
- L’Oréal will support Watsons’ Alagang Pangkalusugan medical and wellness program, that aims to uplift overall wellbeing of vulnerable communities. The Alagang Pangkalusugan program will extend to Metro Manila, Palawan, Bacolod, Iloilo, Pampanga this year.
- L’Oréal is upskilling brand ambassadors and staff of Watsons on sustainability and conscious consumption, utilizing the L’Oréal For the Future e-learning module.
Under its L’Oréal For the Future commitments, L’Oréal will transition 100% of plastic used in its packaging to be recycled or bio-sourced by 2030. L’Oréal is also working for 95% of its product ingredients to be derived from bio-based sources, abundant minerals, or circular processes by 2030.
