Faced with the wall of the environmental crisis, we urgently need to question our consumption habits. But does this mean we have to give up on making products desirable? Is sustainability compatible with the very principles of marketing, particularly in the beauty and luxury sectors? Texen wanted to open the debate on this subject as part of a Tribunal for Future Generations co-organized with Usbek & Rica.
“Our generation has become aware of the finitude of the world [...] desirability goes hand in hand with responsibility”, proclaimed the Comité Colbert, spokesperson for French luxury, in its 2023 annual report.
A message of hope sent to a sector that is questioning its duties in the context of global warming. How can we reconcile desire, the driving force behind consumption, with sustainability, which has become a compass for tomorrow’s world? Should we resign ourselves to the production of aseptic, formatted packaging, or can we still dream while consuming?
To clarify this issue, Texen brought together four experts from the luxury and beauty sectors for a Tribunal for Future Generations (TGF), hosted by Usbek & Rica, on November 4. The TGF concept simulates a court hearing to determine the impact of a practice, in this case sustainable packaging, on our descendants.
Alexandra Chauvigné, Managing Director of PSB Industries, was present alongside the company’s customers and employees, insisting on the “moral dimension” of this question. Over the course of the hour-long debate, the vote was unanimous, with 88% of the audience agreeing that it was possible to reconcile sustainability and desirability.
However, the outcome was not a foregone conclusion, given the challenges facing the industry. In the luxury sector, a brand’s identity is based on the exclusivity and beauty of its products. But if we want to rationalize the ecological cost of packaging as much as possible, the question of standardization arises. After all, isn’t luxury just what’s inside the bottle of the famous Chanel n°5? Julien Garry, International Purchasing and Innovation Director at Chanel, refutes. “The idea of a standardized bottle would be nonsense. There’s no such thing as luxury if we opt for standardization. Each house cultivates its own uniqueness, and that’s what makes it so attractive”, he says, questioned by the attorney for future generations on this dilemma.
The question is even more important for beauty and luxury. Shouldn’t complex packaging (with its higher ecological cost) be favored over more essential applications such as health? “Can’t we consider beauty to be essential? I doubt that a world in which the search for desire and beauty disappears would be very sustainable,” retorts Guillaume Bellissen, Texen’s Sales and Marketing Director. “We’re taking action in our core business to make a real impact, rather than running away, because the world of beauty isn’t going to disappear tomorrow. According to Julien Garry, the importance of packaging should not be overlooked. “It’s not just there to package, but also to protect, transport and even enhance the product (as in the case of the mascara brush). There’s a lot of technology behind our packaging,” he adds.
True to its philosophy, Chanel, for example, has taken the lead by offering refillable flacons, even if the approach remains a minority one. According to the famous French group, the most sustainable solution is not yet the most desired by consumers. “It’s also the role of brands to show the way”, concludes Julien Garry. An observation shared by Mathieu Dufour, Packaging Purchasing Director for the L’Oréal group.
“We have solutions to act on our packaging: apply our 3Rs policy: Reduce (reduce weight), Replace (eliminate fossil-based plastic) or Recycle”,
says the man who insists on the importance of not abandoning our attachment to ‘beauty’.
In a certain sense, we can ask ourselves whether there is a desirable future that is not sustainable. With the IPCC estimating that by 2030, we will have gained 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial period, Bénédicte Garbil launches a bet. “Desirability, when reinvented in the light of sustainability, could even become a new standard,” concludes Carbios’ Senior Vice President.
This concept of a “desirable standard” suggests a new way forward for brands, who are questioning their role as a precursor in bringing about new consumer choices. But this ambition depends on strong collaboration between the sector’s major groups, private and public innovation players and, of course, the recycling chain, which still needs to reinvent itself to be more efficient.