Beauty News: Kiehl’s launches National Free Recycling program to keep its products out of landfill
I love it when brands make a firm commitment to doing better in the field of sustainability, and actually put their money where their mouth is! That is most definitely the case with the new Kiehl’s Recycle and Be Rewarded in-store program, which allows consumers to drop off their empty products to their local Kiehl’s to give the waste a second life.
Consumers can bring their empty beauty products into selected Kiehl’s counters or boutiques (sadly, this program is currently not available in Mecca stores as yet) around New Zealand to recycle in the designated program bins. The Kiehl’s teams will then send them onto TerraCycle – who specialises in recycling ‘non-recyclable’ waste – where the empty products will be shredded, washed and melted down into plastic pellets, which are then used in manufacturing as a sustainable alternative to virgin plastic.
L’Oréal New Zealand Country Manager Aurelie de Cremiers says, “Kiehl’s already works with TerraCycle in numerous countries around the world including America to Australia and the UK, so we are thrilled to finally bring this partnership to New Zealand.” And in even better news, while consumers are doing good by the planet bringing in their empties, they will also be rewarded with complimentary gifts for doing so. For every full-size empty product brought into one of our counters or boutiques, consumers will collect stamps on their programme card, which will lead to rewards.
The program accepts all Kiehl’s products including sachet sample packs, spray packaging, lip balm tubes and concentrate droppers, as well as that by other brands – which is huge if like me, you despair about the future of our planet. De Cremiers says, “Not only will we accept our own products back but, as we at Kiehl’s believe that every bit helps and sustainability is greater than just our brand, we will also accept all empty beauty products from all brands in our bins.” While Kiehl’s bins will accept other beauty brand empties to recycle, only Kiehl’s products will be eligible for Recycle and Be Rewarded treats.
General Manager of TerraCycle Australia and New Zealand, Jean Bailliard, praised Kiehl’s for its ongoing efforts to reduce its environmental impact and set a leading example for other brands in the beauty industry. “It’s fantastic to see our partnership with Kiehl’s continue to go from strength-to-strength, as we now expand drop off points in nine stores, making it even easier for New Zealanders to recycle their skincare products. “With many skin care products going to landfill due to the complex materials they are made from, we’re excited to support sustainably-minded brands such as Kiehl’s to offer consumers an easy way to recycle products that would otherwise go to landfill.”
So what are you waiting for? Go forth and fill those bins x
Words by: Helene Ravlich