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Responsible
Packaging

The Issue.

More than 120 billion units of packaging are produced every year by the global cosmetics industry, and though things are changing, much of the packaging is not reusable or recyclable. We have a love-hate relationship with packaging. We need it. But we have too much of it. And it could be better.

We’ve spent the last year working to understand the environmental impact of our packaging and researching the different disposal options available to our customers.

We are doing this because, believe it or not, packaging is confusing, and even the term ‘recyclable’ can differ between countries and cities - what's recyclable in Toronto may be different than what is recyclable in Seoul. We want to make sure any changes we make will have as big an impact as possible.

Responsible Packaging supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #12 - Responsible Consumption and Production.

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What we are doing.

Targets

In order to make sure our packaging is as responsible as possible, we are committing to the following changes by 2025:

85-100% of our packaging will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable.

We will increase the amount of post-consumer recycled material in our product packaging by up to 50%.

100% of our packaging’s forest-based fiber cartons FSC certified.

Take away: we might not always be able to remove problematic packaging like plastic from our waste stream but we are committed to doing the best we can.

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In-Store
Recycling Program


DECIEM is happy to offer an in-store recycling program, giving customers the ability to recycle product empties from any beauty brand. We accept all post-use skincare and cosmetics packaging that typically don’t have a home in most curbside recycling programs.

Our program is available in all of our stores, globally with exceptions in South Korea and California where programs are currently unavailable. We know this means not all of our customers will be able to reach our new and existing drop-off locations, however, we are committed to monitoring our program to expand our collection scheme.

Our E-commerce Packaging

Online shipment packaging has its challenges, and we are constantly working towards making our methods more sustainable. Our e-commerce packaging currently consists of recycled and recyclable materials.

Image of carboard and Deciem products being packed

Shopping Bags

We have transitioned from plastic shopping bags in our stores to welcome a more sustainable paper alternative. This option is 100% recyclable, 100% recycled, and printed with eco-friendly ink.

As always, we encourage our customers to reuse our shopping bags when visiting, as this will allow us to reduce production, and therefore, our footprint.

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Sustainable Deciem shopping bag

What you can do.

Recycle! We’ve added product specific recycling guidelines here. Please ensure you are disposing of packaging in a responsible way. We always suggest exploring your municipal recycling guidelines to ensure products are placed in their proper home.

Click here for the sorting labels for France and Italy.

In addition, we strongly believe in reusing our packaging before recycling. Humans around the world have found creative ways to reuse The Ordinary bottles.

recycling bins

Curious to know more? We love questions. Feel free to message us through our contact page and we'll get back to you.

Go to Animals or People.