[Abstract] L’Oréal: Collaborative Design for Sustainability
"L’Oréal: Collaborative Design for Sustainability"
1. Introduction to the L’Oréal Group and its global sustainability program, “L’Oréal for the Future.”
2. Case studies of sustainability design shaped by citizen participation
A. L’Oréal has implemented an empty-bottle recycling program that collects used cosmetic containers from consumers and transforms them into various upcycled creations. Examples include:
(1) Kiehl’s “Circular Resource Concept Store,”
(2) the “Scented Tree” upcycling art installation at Seoul Beauty Week,
(3) upcycled benches at Shinsegae Gangnam Department Store, and
(4) a collaborative project with Korea Railroad Corporation to install upcycled benches in the waiting hall of Seoul Station’s second floor.
3. Integrating diversity and inclusion into design
A. The Create Your Beauty campaign (launched in 2022), which applies the artworks of artists with disabilities to L’Oréal packaging.
I. 1st Create Your Beauty: In collaboration with the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, a competition for artists with disabilities was organized, with the winning works exhibited at Lotte Department Store and featured on packaging design.
II. 2nd Create Your Beauty: In partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the winning designs were applied not only to packaging but also to public trash bins across the city.
B. “Citizen Day,” an annual volunteer program engaging all employees, which has included activities with Milal School students with developmental disabilities, such as dismantling toys and co-creating upcycled murals.
4. Recommendation to the City of Seoul: Corporate–City Partnerships
A. Designing public facilities that embody the values of sustainability can open new opportunities for partnerships between companies and the city. Examples include Seoul’s construction-site art wall projects and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s “Museum on the Road” initiative.
Sharon SO is the Corporate Affairs, Engagement and Sustainability Director at L'Oréal Korea, where she leads L'Oréal for the Future, L'Oréal's sustainability program. L'Oréal is focused on four areas in sustainability: stewarding the climate transition, safeguarding nature, driving circularity, and supporting communities, and works closely with internal teams as well as the external ecosystem to drive transformation for sustainability. In Korea, L'Oréal also contributes to society in a wide range of ways, including employee volunteering on Citizen Day, the L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Korea program to nurture female talent in the sciences, and the Create Your Beauty art competition to support artists with disabilities.
