Dec 22, 2021 | 9 min read

Read all about our initial sustainability commitments here.

There is no simple answer to the question above. The truth is that we have failed and we have succeeded.

We have come a long way since 18 months ago when we started actively working with sustainability. Today, we have a small dedicated team whose sole purpose it is to accelerate this agenda and make sustainability a vital part of our decision-making.

Based on our focused work we are now sourcing all of our paper and cardboard materials from FSC certified suppliers - 99.8% of which are recycled fibres. And to package our skincare we are also using recycled plastics wherever possible. We have designed smaller transport packaging to reduce the footprint of our shipments and we are using fewer resources. We have reduced the weight of our transport shippers by 73% on average and we have removed merchandise such as leaflets and flyers and replaced them with QR codes.

We also started measuring our carbon footprint by making our very first greenhouse gas accounting that we concluded in 2021 with 2020 as our baseline year. Equipped with this data we found emission hotspots that we will work on reducing, and we began compensating for our emissions, so that from 2020 onwards, we’re net carbon negative - meaning that we’re offsetting all our carbon footprint plus some extra, just to be on the safe side.

We have become more transparent by publishing detailed information about our packaging including who our suppliers are. We have enriched our product labels with a small sustainability section to remind our customers to recycle. We have made our carbon footprint tools readily available for everyone to use. And we have educated and empowered our community via email marketing and social media - and will continue to do so.

For all of the efforts we were also recognised with a nomination for the 2021 SustainAwards for contributing to the green transition and setting significant sustainability goals in the past year, in company with large Danish corporations like Mærsk (winner), Danfoss, Grundfos and LB Forsikring. Although we didn’t win this time, we appreciate the recognition.

But enough about what we have achieved and on to what we haven’t. For the remainder of this article we want to honestly and openly highlight the main challenges that we have met through our sustainability work the past 18 months.

Sourcing 90% of our packaging from recycled materials

Have we succeeded? No. We are currently at 74.1%, which is a significant increase from 43.1% in May of 2020. But it’s not the 90% we set out to reach by 2021.

We arrive at this number by weighing all packaging items individually, summing that up and dividing it with the total amount of recycled materials.

Total weight of all items: 334.0 g

Total weight of recycled content: 247.5 g

Share of recycled content: 247.5 g / 334.0 g = 74.1%

But the picture looks quite different if we look at the total sum of purchased packaging in 2021. Because, unfortunately, the packaging that we have purchased and sold most of are items with little or no recycled content.

And especially our 50 ml airless dispensers with a total of 9 tonnes worth of purchased items are pulling the numbers in the wrong direction. The airless dispensers contain no recycled content, yet.

We know it’s not good enough. We're working on a new version of our airless dispenser with 40% recycled plastic. And compared to 2021 numbers, 40% would have been 3.6 tons of plastic repurposed for our 50 ml airless dispensers alone.

But back to the 2021 facts. Measured by total weight of purchased items, the share of recycled content only accounts for 35.2%. Quite a different picture from the 74.1% we calculated first.

And if we break it down into primary packaging (our skincare packaging) and secondary packaging (our shipping packaging) we also see a big difference in numbers.

Our primary packaging, which solely consists of plastic, only amount to 15.5% recycled content when we sum it up. While our secondary packaging, which consists of paper and cardboard, amounts to a whooping 99.8% recycled content.

It shows that there’s a long way to go for skincare packaging to fully be made of recycled materials. It requires innovation and for the supply side and demand side to work together.

Making 100% of our packaging fully recyclable

Have we succeeded? No. We have done a lot, but we are not there yet.

In 2021 we launched new packaging across all items. And it was designed with circularity and recyclability in mind. The first step was to remove all metal parts from our packaging. Skincare pumps usually consist of a metal spring in the chamber, which makes it hard to recycle both the metal spring and the plastic parts surrounding it. Our new pumps, tubes and bottles are all made of plastics, so no metal springs, and we’re using two widely used types of plastics, namely PP and PE, that are widely recyclable.

So, does this make our packaging recyclable? The answer is: most likely. Sounds complicated? Well, it is.

But here is what we have done.

None of our packaging items consist of EVOH layers, which contaminates PE and PP materials, but is generally acceptable up to 1%. EVOH is a barrier layer that protects the product and brings longer shelf life, which is not necessary for products like ours.

We are using light colours, which increases the value of recycled plastic, as it is easier to recycle. There is also no print directly on our packaging - all information and branding are on the labels. The only colour that would have been better in terms of recyclability is no colour. So, clear or transparent packaging.

We are not using seals or liners that contaminate the recycled content if it is not removed. 

We have designed our packaging with PP and PE, which are compatible in certain amounts. When recycling PP, some contamination with PE is acceptable without compromising the material's properties. The PE content can be up to 30 % in recycled PP, which we are well below.

It is different when recycling PE, though, where the PP content should be below 1% of the total amount. Our tubes are a 50/50 mix of PE and PE if you include the cap, so here we don’t live up to this requirement. But we are working on a tube that is only made of PE.

Our labels are compatible as they are made with PP and PE, too. In accordance with guidelines the adhesives and labels must release from the container at 40 degrees celsius, which, however, our labels don’t. This is a general problem for bathroom and shower products that need to stand a humid, warm and wet environment.

Based on this, the conclusion according to a design guide by the Network for Circular Plastic Packaging, is that our packaging is: most likely recyclable. And therefore, we have not succeeded.

With all the complexity involved in developing recyclable packaging - differing design guidelines, inefficient collection methods, varied sorting guidelines across nations, and future uncertainties - we are strongly considering designing for reuse instead of recycling. And we will be evaluating and testing a take-back programme in 2022.

Getting 100% traceability of our product ingredients

Have we succeeded? Far from. We have only just scratched the surface.

The skincare industry is not as transparent as we naively set out to believe. We knew it was ambitious to aim for 100% traceability, but not that it would be impossible to achieve.

Traceability is the ability to trace and document single raw materials used in a supply chain: all the way from the origin of each material, the processes it undergoes in every step of the supply chain, to its final destination in the products.

Why is traceability important? Well, because only when we can trace an ingredient can we understand whether it is sourced and processed sustainably and responsibly.

Here is what we know so far.

We know where our ingredients are produced. While the majority of our ingredients are produced in Europe, others are also being produced in the US, Brazil, China and India.

Our ingredients currently follow a classification scheme with two options: natural origin and synthetic.

54% of our ingredients are of natural origin, 46% are synthetic. 

In broad terms, ingredients of natural origin are from a natural source or more than 50% of its components are derived from natural components. While synthetic ingredients are from petrochemical sources or contain less than 50% of ingredients derived from natural components. 

Moving forward, we will be focusing our attention on tracing the natural ingredients back to its source. Natural ingredients are the focus, because they come from valuable sources that we need to preserve and protect for a sustainable future, and we need to make sure they are produced socially responsible.

It is crazy to think that cosmetics and skincare companies today cannot trace their natural ingredients back to origin. Supply chains are opaque and we want to change that.

Changing your brand identity results in waste

In 2021 we did a major relaunch of NØIE’s brand identity. We changed our logo, updated colours, designed new packaging and got a new website. It was a big thing and resulted in a lot of positive changes. Especially our new improved packaging with higher levels of recycled materials and improved design.

But a brand relaunch like this also has negative consequences. Some that we seldom talk about in our industry. From one day to the other, our old packaging was made obsolete. And unfortunately, that meant a significant part of our inventory.

Our sales forecast up to the relaunch didn’t hold true and therefore, we ended up with a larger inventory of our old products and packaging than expected when we switched to the new identity.

It is the unfortunate inefficiency of doing business and trying to balance the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit. In a scaling business like ours, running out of products (resulting in a loss of profit) is a bigger risk, than ending up with obsolete inventory, which is of course unfortunate from a planet perspective. Basically, we would need higher costs of emissions and waste to balance the risks, but that is for another post.

In our case, the rebranding resulted in 13 tons of obsolete products and packaging. Which simply isn't good enough.

Here is what we’re doing about it.

It is included in our GHG accounting where we account for the emissions and compensate for them by supporting carbon removal offsets. That is extra costs on us, because we first had to produce it, then compensate for it, and without the revenue to cover the costs. But that is how we are taking responsibility for it.

We are donating all our obsolete final goods inventory to NGOs, patient organisations, and other relevant causes. That is the least we can do. And luckily the products don’t go to waste but are put into the hands of people who will benefit from them. So far, we have donated 60% of the value of our inventory and will donate the remaining in the first quarter of 2022.

Packaging materials, mainly cardboard and plastic, are being sent for recycling and together with a really cool partner of ours, we’re turning old plastic packaging into furniture. Again, that is extra costs on us, but it’s certainly the right thing to do. And the least we can do.

We wish we could have minimised the obsolete products and made a smooth transition to the new packaging without any waste, but when the external environment suddenly changes and your forecasts don’t hold true, you are hit by the reality that we, in our industry, are still way too inefficient and far from the sustainable bar that we are setting for ourselves.

One day in the not-too-distant future we will be able to produce only what our customers order and have no final goods inventory that runs the risk of getting obsolete. This way, we will significantly minimise inefficiencies and waste that our industry creates.

What’s next?

Based on the last 18 months, we learned a lot. We set out with an ambitious (some would say overly-ambitious and slightly naive) strategy. We have come a long way, but we only just started. The facts (good and bad) shared here are forming the basis for a new strategy that we will communicate soon.