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Our Product Environmental and Social Labelling
Inspiring consumers to take action with us
An important part of achieving sustainability is accurately assessing the impact of products and acting to reduce that impact.
We think our responsibility is to share this information with consumers so they can make informed, sustainable choices.
People are willing to do their part for the environment, but to achieve this, transparency is key. That is why we developed a Product Impact Labelling system to inform consumers on the environmental and social impact of our products.
How does it work?
Our labelling system is based on the key impact assessments of the Sustainable Product Optimisation Tool (SPOT), a methodology that L’Oréal developed together with independent scientific experts and that is aligned with the European Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) guidelines to scientifically evaluate a product’s environmental impact.
The product environmental impact score gives an accurate vision of the impact of a L’Oréal product by taking into account 14 planetary impact factors, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, ocean acidification or the impact on biodiversity. The impacts are measured at every stage of a product’s life cycle and calculated by looking not only at sourcing, production and transportation, but also consumer usage and packaging recyclability.
For example, the water used in the production cycle, the percentage of recycled plastic used in the packaging and the CO2 emissions to heat your shower’s water all enter into the calculation. In the case of cosmetics, the carbon and water footprints are the most important impact factors. L’Oréal therefore decided to communicate the overall environmental score, as well as the detailed carbon and water footprint of its listed products.
In order to provide everyone with clear and useful information, this environmental labelling was developed as a comparison tool for products of the same category. The classification is a reflection of a product’s impact compared to other products offering the same kind of cosmetic services (hair cleansing, conditioning, etc.) on a scale from A to E. An “A” product is considered as ‘best in class’.
In addition to this information, L’Oréal provides details about the manufacturing conditions and packaging profile of each product, including the percentage of renewable energy used during the manufacturing process, the part of recycled materials used for the packaging or the scope for recycling.
About the social impact of your products
Last but not least, the labelling comprises key information about a product’s social impact. This includes compliance with the fundamental principles of the UN on labour standards by all ingredients and components suppliers and the number of suppliers committed to social inclusion having contributed to the product, if any.
How do I know the data is reliable?
This calculation methodology was developed by the L'Oréal Group with 11 independent scientific experts and is aligned with the European "Environmental Product Footprint" standards.
Application of the impact calculation method and the accuracy of the data were verified by the independent auditor Bureau Veritas Certification.
The labels and scores are accessible on product web pages. They were first launched in July 2020 in France for Garnier haircare products. They are now also available for Garnier haircare products in the UK and Ireland.
L’Oréal will progressively roll-out this Product Environmental and Social Impact Labelling system among its brands and products.
If you are interested in the technical details of the methodology used to develop the Product Environmental and Social Impact Labelling, see our Methodologies document or our global website.
