L’Occitane creates 100 percent biorecycled PET bottle

French beauty brand L'Occitane has created a 100 percent biorecycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle from enzymatic recycling in partnership with recycling company Carbios and packaging firm Pinard Beauty Pack.

The transparent bottle for its shower oil from L’Occitane en Provence’s Amande range has been made utilising Carbios’ enzymatic depolymerisation process made with a European value chain committed to responsible consumption of sustainable materials.

The bottle’s production began with the local supply of PET waste (already collected, sorted and prepared) to the Carbios’ industrial demonstrator in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The waste used consisted of coloured bottles, multilayer trays and mechanical recycling residues, none of which are currently recycled using traditional technologies.

Carbios deconstructed PET waste into its original monomers using its biorecycling technology. The resulting monomers were then re-polymerised into new, fully recycled PET resins within Europe.

In Oyonnax, France, the resins were blow-moulded by Pinard Beauty Pack to create the shower oil bottles.

David Bayard, research and development packaging director at L’Occitane, said in a statement: “At L’Occitane en Provence, we're cultivators of change, and we're proud to be part of this forward-looking industry. Today, just over 50 percent of our PET material is from recycled origin. Thanks, in particular to Carbios and depolymerisation technologies, we will be able to reach 100 percent by 2027 for all our retail bottles.

“We are very satisfied with the quality of the bottle produced in collaboration with Carbios and Pinard, which enables us to reduce our reliance on fossil-based plastic and offers a viable alternative with equivalent quality and transparency, which is important to showcase our products.”

Emmanuel Ladent, chief executive at Carbios, added: “Carbios' innovation accelerates the transition to a circular economy by offering an alternative to petro-sourced PET and a circular PET recycling solution that reduces CO2 emissions by 57 percent.

“But to create an efficient recycling sector, all players in the value chain have their part to play and must work together. The long-term partnership between Carbios and L’Occitane is testament of this shared desire to promote more responsible consumption. The bottle produced with L’Occitane and its converter Pinard illustrates how the industry is moving forward.”