L’Oreal Group has initiated the third phase of its environmental campaign, titled #JoinTheRefill Movement, across its South Asia Pacific, Middle East, and North Africa (Sapmena) territories.
Launched last year to align with World Refill Day, the campaign spans multiple product categories, including skincare, fragrance, makeup, and haircare.
The corporate campaign aims to address a discrepancy identified in consumer data from market research firm Kantar, which indicates that 84 per cent of consumers intend to make sustainable choices, yet product discoverability and perceived practicality remain barriers.
Participating brands in the region include Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, Armani Beauty, Lancome, Kiehl’s, La Roche-Posay, CeraVe, Kerastase, and L’Oreal Professionnel.
The refill models utilise specific metrics to demonstrate waste reduction. For instance, the company said that purchasing a single refill package for Lancome Absolue Longevity Soft Cream, instead of a new standard jar, avoids manufacturing 100 per cent of the associated glass, 95 per cent of the metal, 42 per cent of the plastic, and 36 per cent of the cardboard packaging.
To support production infrastructure, the company operates dedicated manufacturing capabilities at its factories in France and Spain.
These facilities contributed to a 3.7-fold increase in the company’s total refillable product options between 2019 and 2025. Additionally, the group runs a 100 million-euro investment initiative called L’Accelerator, which funds startups developing alternative packaging materials such as seaweed-based designs, sugarcane bio-plastics, and recyclable paper bottles.
The refill items are distributed through regional e-commerce platforms, including Lazada, Shopee, TikTok, and Nykaa, as well as retail partnerships with Sephora, Bin Sina, Adore Beauty, Amazon, and Beauty Success.
“Sapmena is one of the fastest-growing beauty markets in the world, powered by a young, connected generation that expects the brands they love to be genuinely committed to doing good for the planet and people,” said Rohini Behl, CSO at L’Oreal Sapmena.
“With consumers in the region increasingly seeking more sustainable beauty options, we are actively expanding our refillable portfolio to cater to this growing demand. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at L’Oreal, and this campaign reaffirms our commitment to building a beauty industry in Sapmena with circularity at its core,” said Behl.
“Making refills the new norm requires a fundamental evolution across our entire value chain, from supply chain to product design to retailer partnerships and consumer engagement. Combined with our L’Accelerator program, we are continuously identifying, piloting and scaling the breakthrough technologies that will define next-generation packaging materials and systems,” said Ezgi Barcenas at L’Oreal Sapmena.
