Garnier makes the shift to eco-friendly packaging as part of their initiative to becoming a more sustainable brand. Their green parcel is the first sustainable E-commerce parcel in the Philippines and they’re swapping out plastics for cassava bags, paper honeycomb, and recyclable shipping boxes when fulfilling online orders. The cosmetics brand is also now officially animal cruelty-free.
Their parent company, L’Oréal, partnered with Shopee so that all Garnier products purchased through them will be packed in these eco-friendly substitutes. Instead of bubble wrap, the products will be secured with honeycomb paper, which will then be placed inside the green bag that’s made from cassava starch.
All the eco-friendly swaps will either be biodegradable or compostable. Business World notes that the cassava starch bag has a similar texture to balloons. This green parcel was made by an Indonesian-based company, SainBags, as a solution to decrease the damage to the environment. It can be disposed of by cutting it up in pieces and dissolving it in water. Once it’s dissolved, it can be used as plant fertilizer or simply tossed out.
Fragile items will still be secured despite the lack of bubble wrap thanks to EcoNest Philippines’ honeycomb paper. Their innovation is a “patented 3D die-cut paper made from FSC certified craft paper with an interleaf tissue” that ensures the item’s safety during handling and delivery.
Since November of 2020, Shopee orders have been fulfilled with these eco-friendly pouches although there haven’t been announcements for other e-commerce sites. The cosmetic company admits sustainable packaging comes at a cost, but they assure their customers that they will not be increasing their suggested retail price because of it.
Plastic is a big contributor to the waste that ends up in the landfills and it’s great to see companies finally taking accountability for the packaging they use. L’Oréal has promised that their other brands will be shifting to eco-packaging soon, too.
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