L’Occitane En Provence Embraces Enzymatic Recycling for Amande Shower Oil Bottles

L’Occitane en Provence, in collaboration with Carbios and Pinard Beauty Pack, is pioneering the use of enzymatically recycled PET (rPET) bottles for its shower oil from the Amande range. This initiative is part of L’Occitane’s goal to produce all retail bottles from 100% post-consumer recycled PET by 2027.

The process begins at Carbios’ industrial demonstrator in Clermont-Ferrand, where difficult-to-recycle waste like coloured bottles and multilayer trays are depolymerised using Carbios’ biorecycling technology. The resulting monomers, PTA and MEG, are then repolymerised into new PET resins within European supply chains. Pinard Beauty Pack moulds these resins into bottles, which L’Occitane fills with shower oil at its Manosque facility.

This innovative recycling method reduces CO2 emissions by 57% compared to virgin plastic production and avoids using 1.3 tonnes of oil per tonne of rPET produced. Carbios’ technology is designed to complement mechanical recycling, handling waste types that conventional methods cannot process. This approach enhances the life cycle analysis of the products by reducing transport distances and integrating end-of-life products back into local recycling processes.

The new rPET bottles will be showcased at LuxePack in Paris, highlighting the industry’s move towards sustainable packaging solutions. Carbios aims to replicate this partnership globally, promoting a circular economy in the plastic industry.