SOUTH KOREA – Chemical and life sciences products manufacturer SK Chemicals has partnered with cosmetics brand the Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) to enhance sustainability in the cosmetics container market.
The companies signed a letter of intent (LOI) that will see SK supply packaging materials such as its ECOTRIA CR, SKYPET CR, and ECOZEN CLARO to ELC.
ECOTRIA CR and SKYPET CR use copolyester and polyethylene terephthalate derived from circular raw materials while ECOZEN CLARO is designed to address plastic recycling.
The cosmetic brand will leverage these materials to develop packaging for its own products.
As part of the agreement, SK and ELC will gradually scale up the recycled materials content in their products and eliminate other non-recyclable materials.
The partnership will expedite the transition towards sustainability in the global cosmetics container market.
SK CEO Ahn Jae-hyun said, “Through this agreement, we believe positive synergies can be created in both business and environmental aspects as SK Chemicals, leading the circular recycling plastic technology [market], partners with the Estée Lauder Companies, leading the global cosmetics market.”
“We will continue to work harder to create a sustainable ecosystem for cosmetics containers,” he added.
ELC offers skincare, makeup, fragrance, and haircare products under more than 20 brands in approximately 150 countries and territories.
SK Chemicals added it will be providing Estee Lauder with its recyclable plastic material Ecozen Claro. Meanwhile, Estee Lauder will develop packaging for cosmetic products, utilizing the materials supplied by SK Chemicals.
“SK Chemicals and Estee Lauder will gradually increase the amount of recycled materials in (our) products and replace other non-recyclable materials, with designs that incorporate recyclable or recycled materials, (to help realize) Estee Lauder’s packaging sustainability goals,” said an official from SK Chemicals.
The recent letter of intent follows SK Chemicals’ series of efforts to supply recycled or recyclable materials to the cosmetics container market.
Last month, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the development of a waste plastic recycling business with Lovere, a waste recycling company based in Shanghai, China.
Starting in 2024, the two companies will develop a business to recover and sort waste plastics locally, starting in China’s Guangdong Province, where SK Chemicals’ circular recycling plant is located.
SK Chemicals and Lovere will also jointly invest to secure waste PET as a raw material for recycling.
Lovere is a leading company in China’s municipal waste collection and sorting sector, currently collecting and recycling 420,000 tons of waste annually in 37 cities in China.
China is one of the world’s largest producers of waste plastics and one of the largest consumers of raw materials for circular recycling.
