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Sustainability at Aesop

Our approach to sustainability aims to address our environmental impact and increase our social commitments, starting with the issues of greatest importance to our communities, customers and colleagues. In short, the intention is to give back more than we take.

Ethical formulations

Since our inception, well before there were any bans on such practices for cosmetics around the world, we have been staunchly opposed to animal testing of any kind. Our products are all made from responsibly sourced ingredients. None of these are derived from animals; even such industry favourites as beeswax, honey and lanolin are absent from our labels—which means that all our formulations are vegan. All ingredients are thoroughly reviewed by our Research & Development team before use. They are researched extensively not only for safety and efficacy, but also for their registration and regulatory status across global markets, noting any past animal testing that would prevent their inclusion. This is a standard process for all ingredients, whether new or existing. Our internal Ethical Sourcing Programme also ensures that all our suppliers use environmentally responsible processes, provide safe working conditions, and treat their workers with dignity and respect. We are committed to investing in long-term partnerships with those that share and demonstrate these values. Constant assessment and improvement of our suppliers' practices are key to maintaining ethical and sustainable production of the highest standard.

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Accreditation and recognition

Leaping Bunny approved

All our formulations—including those for the home—are approved under the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny programme, the internationally recognised gold standard for cruelty-free products, whose criteria go above and beyond legal requirements. For more information about Cruelty Free International, Leaping Bunny and Leaping Bunny criteria, please visit their website.

A Certified B Corporation™

As a Certified B Corporation, we are part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact. The globally recognised credential publicly endorses businesses as making an impact beyond profit by building a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Read our B Corp assessment
Certified B Corporation ® icon; Leaping Bunny approved icon.
Certified B Corporation ®; Leaping Bunny approved.

Packaging ethos

Our packaging plays a critical role in delivering the experience of an Aesop product to our customers.

Aesop bottles and tubes have always been distinctly minimalist. This is not simply an aesthetic: it is an ethos. Vessels must be functional and modest, and have minimal environmental impact. It may sound at odds with this approach, but some of our bottles are made from plastic, rather than glass. This was not a decision made lightly but is a solution to our practical packaging problems—it is also a little-known fact that plastic bottles actually have a lower carbon footprint than their glass counterparts.

Recent progress includes:

  • All our 500mL bottles are now made from at least 97% recycled plastic.

  • Three of our hand and body balms now use 100% recycled aluminium tubes.

In addition to this continued progress on recycled materials, we will further maximise this minimalism, so to speak, by developing packaging that is even more reusable and recyclable than it already is, and uses even less energy.

Collage depicting a photograph displaying Aesop amber bottles and birds in a landscape

Circularity

Aesop packaging is designed with improved circularity in mind, focusing on three priorities: reducing the amount of material used as much as possible; enabling refill and reuse to keep our packaging in use as long as possible; and ensuring recyclability at end of life.

Currently, we run a small number of in-store refill trials, and a larger programme of Rinse and Return—our in-store packaging take-back scheme, which aims to take responsibility for the recycling of Aesop packaging, now offered in over 150 of our stores. Work is underway to expand Rinse and Return, and introduce further solutions that offer circular choices to our customers.

Learn more about our refill in-store trial
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Store design

Aesop has long believed that our stores should provide sanctuary and nourishment to our customers and the wider community. The way we design, create and run our spaces can and should have an overwhelmingly positive impact on the people who visit them and the neighbourhoods they are in.

Our store design function has created a replicable workflow for measuring, analysing and—where necessary—addressing our stores’ use of materials, energy and water. In 2023, we launched an improved version of our store design sustainability scorecard. Using life-cycle analysis principles, we assess the carbon impact of the manufacture and transportation of all the materials that go into our signature stores.

Our target is to lower the embodied-carbon footprint of all new signature stores by 50% in intensity by 2027, compared to 2023

Our progress:

  • The design of Aesop Gansevoort represented an 80% reduction in embodied-carbon impact compared to an average Aesop store for 2023.

  • We have installed smart meters and controls in some stores—at Aesop Lyon, this spurred a 46% reduction in energy used for heating.

  • Many of our taps now use a flow regulator, with Aesop rue Vieille du Temple noting a 55% reduction in water flow.

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Climate action

The climate crisis calls for leadership, innovation and ambition. We have implemented a Decarbonisation Roadmap in support of our net-zero goal. This is a key part of our climate strategy that ensures we, as a business, have what it takes to rise to the challenge.

Our vision on climate:

By 2030 our climate approach will enable us to reduce our emissions in line with climate science, restore nature and contribute to climate resilience.

We saw some great progress on reducing our carbon intensity in 2023, in line with our roadmap, and are holding ourselves to account for making progress towards our carbon goals.

Our progress so far:

  • 2023 saw a 5% reduction in carbon intensity per product unit.

  • Our freight emissions decreased by 20%.

  • Our contract manufacturing emissions decreased by 56%.

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Philanthropy and social impact

We have a strong legacy of supporting the communities in which we work, but we are now more public and purposeful with our philanthropy than ever before. Our mission is to amplify the voices of excluded communities in the pursuit of equity, belonging, and a thriving planet.

The Aesop Foundation aims to have a meaningful impact in the communities in which it operates, while also embracing the need to go beyond, understanding the interconnected social and environmental issues faced across the world. In 2023 we provided AUD$2.6m in grants across 20 charities.

Beyond our philanthropy, all full-time staff are encouraged to use 1% of their time to volunteer with a charitable organisation of their choice, each Aesop store can give products to support charitable organisations in the local community, and the Aesop Foundation matches donations made by Aesop employees.

Aesop also has steadfast commitments to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion which exist to celebrate uniqueness and unite our community in the pursuit of belonging.

Learn more about the Aesop Foundation

'Soar, eat ether, see what has never been seen; depart, be lost, but climb.'

Edna St. Vincent Millay