Sustainable Sunday: Meet the man behind Korea's leading sustainable beauty brand

Today, the cult favourite is a leader in South Korea and the rest of Asia for its sustainable practices. Since its formation, the brand has continued to innovate its packaging to address the plastic issue stemming from excessive packaging. It started with making most of its packaging from recycled plastics and glass; from October 2019, Aromatica developed its own recyclable PET containers. 

In 2021, Aromatica introduced one of South Korea's first zero-waste concept stores, encouraging users to recycle used bottles by refilling beauty products. That same year, the country's Ministry of Environment, Seoul Broadcasting Service (SBS), and the Federation of Environmental Movement of Korea acknowledged the brand's sustainability efforts with the Water Environment Award in management and policy. 

See also: Founders of activewear brand, Terrae, practise mindful shopping

Its latest store, House of Aromatica in Gangnam, Seoul, continues to embody the eco-conscious movement—showing how consumers in the region are increasingly embracing this new lifestyle.

How do you balance sustainability and benefits for the skin in your product ingredients?

Whenever we plan and launch new products, we review whether our brand philosophy, "Save the skin, save the planet", is accurately reflected in the product.

Right from the start, we insist on using sustainably sourced and organically produced raw materials from all over the world because good ingredients have better efficacy and produce high-quality products. These carefully selected ingredients are Cosmos-certified, which means that they have met strict natural and organic product production standards.

We also research packaging that can reduce carbon emissions, considering the disposal process after using the product. We design containers with a reusable structure and use materials that are easy to recycle. In addition, 97 per cent of our current container products are made from recycled transparent PET and recycled glass. We also exclude unnecessary materials and packaging.

Read more: 5 clean beauty skincare brands to look out for in 2023

What kind of improvements would you like to see in the beauty industry to make it more sustainable?

I believe that companies need to recognise and actively address social and structural problems. Especially in the beauty industry, which generates a lot of plastic waste, companies should feel responsible for the environment and take action to solve the problem.

Companies that produce products need to take the lead in creating packages that can be recycled after use and using recycled materials to create packages. Improvements are needed across the entire business. Aromatica has already taken lead in the beauty industry by demonstrating that sustainable packaging is possible. If many companies follow suit, a circular economy can be established, ultimately changing society.

Do you have any advice for those who are starting out on their journey of living sustainably?

I hope people can develop habits of reusing containers in their daily lives and purchasing refillable products. To promote a culture of reuse among consumers, Aromatica operates refill stations where customers can bring their own containers to purchase products.

Reusing containers can reduce waste and allow consumers to buy products at a more affordable price. In addition, we also sell refill packs that can reduce plastic usage by more than 70 per cent compared to new containers. I hope that more and more environmentally conscious consumers will emerge and that a culture of refill through container reuse will spread throughout society.

NOW READ

Meerqeen is the first Malaysian brand ambassador for YSL Beauty

TikTok beauty: Try hair cycling for luscious locks

See Michelle Yeoh's first campaign for La Mer's Moisturizing Soft Cream