Sustainable Sourcing
Our Partnerships
Building long-term partnerships based on trust & respect
We work directly with over 130 French farmers and 10,000 pickers – from the Immortelle fields of Corsica to the Lavender fields of Provence, ensuring that the ingredients we use are of the highest quality and sourced as sustainably as possible.
Our Four Commitment Pillars
The L’OCCITANE brand sees nature as its model and draws inspiration from the natural properties of plants to drive innovation. We are dedicated to developing long-term partnerships with our producers and prioritise short, local integrated channels when sourcing our key ingredients.
Traceability
It is important to us to maintain the traceability of our ingredients, therefore we have a dedicated team to maintain our relationships with local producers.
We strive to purchase local produce whenever possible and have complete control over the traceability of extracts, from the seeds right up to the finished product.
Our formulas, inspired by nature, always has the utmost respect for the environment, avoiding any form of bioiracy. To provide a recognised framework to our policy of business ethics, we adhere to the UN Global Pact and its ten principles in the fields of human rights, labor rights, environmental rights and the fight against corruption.
Sustainability
We try to limit our environmental impact of every aspect of our work, from the creation of our formulas to the development of our packaging, including the product and distribution on an international level. We have introduced an eco-refill range which allows customers to get involved by refilling and reusing their favourite products. This has amounted to less plastic and packaging of up to 60% - 90%.
In order to continually reduce our environmental impact locally, we have a collaborative relationship with TerraCycle, a recycling organisation that engages the community to collect difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and turning them into innovative eco products. Customers are able to contribute by bringing in any L'OCCITANE empty packaging to all boutiques in Australia.
Fairness
For our key ingredients, we build real partnerships that are strengthened, whenever possible, by multi-year contracts with our producers. These contracts guarantee them a minimum purchase volumes, ensuring that they have a reliable, lasting outlets for their produce, at a price that is agreed by all parties.
The fairness of our partnerships can also be found in our North-South trade. Several of our supply chains (Shea butter, Argan oil, Orange blossom floral water) are fair trade approved and we donate a percentage of the purchase price of the raw material to local development projects.
Quality
The growing, harvesting, drying and storage conditions all have an impact on the purity of plant materials. To ensure we are able to sustain the best quality of plant materials from growing the ingredients right through to the final product, we work closely with our analytical, quality and regulatory departments.
Our key ingredients are for the most part, organically derived to guarantee the absence of chemical inputs. The harvesting of wild plants is governed by sustainable harvesting guidelines, to protect the integrity and habitat of these plants.
Traceability
30 TRACEABLE INGREDIENT SUPPLY CHAINS WITH 50% ORGANIC CERTIFICATED
Partners
80 PARTNERSHIPS WITH FARMERS
Pickers
10,000 PICKERS WORKING FOR L'OCCITANE
ORGANIC IMMORTELLE
FROM CORSICA
FROM CORSICA
The large scale organic Immortelle plantation programme was launched in Corsica; the initiative unite respect for the environment with equality. Today, this project brings together ten Corsican growers and distillers, who use organic farming methods and have contracts that cover five to seven harvests.
SHEA BUTTER
FROM BURKINA FASO
FROM BURKINA FASO
Olivier Baussan, founder of the L’OCCITANE brand discovered shea butter in Burkina Faso in 1980: the start of a sustainable joint-development partnership with the women who produce this butter. Since 2015, the Group has been working on projects aimed at protecting the Shea tree and reducing the environmental impact.
VERBENA
FROM PROVENCE
From their first meeting on the lush tropical island of Réunion, to owning a farm amid the rolling hills of Provence, Philippe and Magalie Mary have lived a storied life together. Their shared passion for sustainable farming and Provençal herbs led the couple to cultivate their crop.
At L'OCCITANE, we strive to use high-quality, traceable and natural ingredients.
We use over 200 botanical ingredients, a quarter of them organic certified, which are carefully selected for their effectiveness and their ability to give your skin the elements it needs to be beautiful. We therefore systematically give priority to natural ingredients whenever possible. Discover the key natural ingredients that make our products so unique. Provençal Almond, Burkina Faso Shea Butter… all ethically sourced.
