Aēsop to collaborate with Raeburn on ‘closing the loop’

Australian skincare brand Aēsop, part of Natura and Co., is set to collaborate with leading sustainability fashion brand, Raeburn.

The first joint venture between the two will drop in January 2021 and has been created with post-Covid customer needs in mind, explains Aēsop, and will highlight both brands’ shared principles around practicality, functionality and purpose.

Christopher Raeburn, creative director of Raeburn, said in a statement: “Aēsop’s ethics and products are second-to-none so for Raeburn the initial idea of partnering made perfect sense - from there we wanted to push ourselves to be sure we'd be creating something truly innovative for the market.

“Above everything we wanted to provide a truly unique, responsibly designed product which would provide the perfect companion for our naturally curious customers in the rapidly changing world of today.”

While further details about the project have not yet been unveiled, Aēsop said that they chose to work with Raeburn due to the designer brand’s responsible design practices, as well as how the label had pioneered the reworking of surplus fabrics and garments to create innovative and utilitarian pieces.

The beauty brand, said: “This innovative approach, with an unusual balance of high concept, accessibility and wearability, will manifest in the first collaboration with Aēsop.”

Raeburn to launch first beauty-related project in collaboration with Aēsop

Adam Kakembo, Aēsop’s chief marketing officer added: “We approached Raeburn with the idea for a collaborative project having long admired Christopher’s ability to blend utility and convenience with aesthetic desirability.

“With a shared commitment to responsible design, we have created a concept inspired by the post-Covid needs of our customer as they navigate the new normal.”

This will mark Raeburn’s first beauty-related project.

The collaboration comes as Aēsop continues to evolve its approach to design, applying sustainable and circular principles to transform its products, packaging and operations, with its sights set on B Corp certification before the end of 2020.

The Australian skincare brand is globally recognised for its distinctive brown bottles and alabaster labelling, and it has itself a target to make 100 percent of its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

As part of its strategy to close the loop, Aēsop has launched a refill trial for four of their facial cleansers at one of their stores in Adelaide, Australia, to use the findings from the trial to help expand the product offer and reach in 2021.

Customers are invited to return used 200ml glass bottles to this location where they will be returned to Aesop for cleaning, sanitisation and refill. The long-term ambition is to deliver a refill or closed-loop solution for 50 percent of its packaging range by 2030.

The move towards refills follows the popularity of the Aēsop Rinse and Return programme, which launched in 2018 in Hong Kong, inviting customers to return their emptied plastic and glass cosmetic packaging to Aēsop signature stores and counters across the city.

Image: courtesy of Aēsop