Sustainable Packaging Disruptors Bluebird and Pact Collective Partner to Drive the Beauty Industry Toward Circularity

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Sep 25, 2023, 09:07 ET

Scaling sustainability and customer transparency tops the list of priorities in new partnership

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluebird, a climate technology company known for introducing accessible, user-friendly and rapid Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools, announces its official collaboration with nonprofit Pact Collective in an effort to move the beauty industry towards circularity. The beauty industry generates an estimated 120 billion cosmetic packages annually, the majority of which are single-use and will never be recycled. Sustainable packaging has long been desired by consumers but hard to execute by most brands, leaving a critical gap for indie, small and new-to-market brands who don't have the resources to deliver on sustainability wishes.

Example of how a brand uses Bluebird's widget on their website to communicate recycling instructions.

Bluebird recyclability instructions with interactive Pact collection bin integration

Bluebird and Pact's partnership will start by enabling over 150 beauty and wellness brands a turnkey solution to swiftly assess the recyclability of their packaging and effectively communicate the appropriate disposal and recycling guidelines to consumers via an intuitive interactive e-commerce widget. Drawing on their extensive specialty recycling network, Pact was able to help optimize Bluebird's methodologies by fine tuning instructions for hard-to-recycle packaging and providing Pact drop off bin locations, ensuring the platform is reflective of the latest recycling infrastructure and is most helpful to customers trying to recycle.

This partnership dramatically reduces the technical knowledge and effort required by brands to evaluate recyclability, while significantly improving likelihood that their packaging will be recycled properly. Prior to the partnership, brands would need to evaluate each packaging component for likelihood to be recycled by end customers, likelihood to be accepted in recycling infrastructure, and then translate this all into instructions to their customers. This dramatic reduction in complexity is especially important since laws and retailer standards require proper recycling labeling.

Recyclability evaluation and instructions are the first step in a broader partnership between the organizations, extending to tools that enable Pact-affiliated beauty companies the ability to measure and optimize the climate impact of their products in development using Bluebird's life cycle assessment (LCA) tools. With a shared commitment to sustainability, forward-looking technology, and a united vision for a more sustainable beauty industry, both partners are poised to redefine industry standards and enhance consumer transparency.

Bluebird has been working since 2021 to help beauty and wellness brands reduce the carbon emissions and waste associated with bringing their products to market and then share that data with customers in a simple way. Bluebird's software makes it easy to evaluate recyclability, landfill waste, and climate impact of packaging based on data from thousands of supply chains, consumer behavior, and recycling infrastructure. Product developers, sustainability professionals and marketers can use the software to develop more sustainable products and communicate greenwashing-proof claims.

"Access and transparency are two core values that Bluebird and Pact Collective share. We are energized by how this partnership can help quickly scale sustainable packaging for even the newest player in the market. By partnering with Bluebird, Pact Collective is empowering brands to make sure they get recyclability right during product development and easily communicate recycling instructions to their customers. We look forward to merging our disruptive approaches to bring sustainability to the masses," said Jamie McCroskery, Bluebird's CEO and Co-founder.

Pact Collective, equally respected for their innovative role in disrupting traditional packaging takeback program models, allows brands and consumers the ability to properly recycle beauty products that are not accepted in most curbside recycling programs. The membership-based nonprofit offers beauty companies the opportunity to host collection programs for hard-to-recycle beauty and wellness packaging. Pact's transparent approach to the specialty collection program has garnered rapid success – drop off bins are found in major retail players like Sephora, Ulta and Credo, while bringing in large brands like L'oreal, ILIA and Ritual. The nonprofit also provides educational resources to push the beauty industry toward circularity by designing better packaging from the start.

"Our industry needs to speak the same language when it comes to recyclability claims. Through this collaboration with Bluebird, Pact can better communicate our collection guidelines to help our members determine which of their packaging components are curbside recyclable, acceptable by Pact, or destined for the landfill. All while instantly communicating proper recycling and disposal instructions to their customers with e-commerce plugins," said Carly Snider, Pact's Program Director.

About Bluebird
Bluebird is the leading sustainability software platform in beauty, health, and wellness industry. Partnering with dozens of distinguished brands like Dieux Skin, Curology, Versed, Beautycounter, Ritual, Rhode, Glossier and many more. Bluebird offers an accessible and advanced Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) technology, enabling brands to rapidly gauge the climate impact, waste footprint, and recyclability of both market-ready products and concepts in their developmental stages. Bluebird's software was designed to be used by anyone, regardless of their background or knowledge in sustainability. Going beyond mere assessment, Bluebird empowers brands with e-commerce widgets and data points they can leverage for credible product marketing. This innovative approach not only enables brands to proactively navigate everchanging marketing regulations but also enhances their customer engagement and equips their retailer partnerships with comprehensive sustainability data. Founded by former leaders from Unilever, Dropbox, Glossier, and Google - Bluebird's mission from day one has been to empower brands of all sizes and stages of their sustainability journey to create lower carbon and waste products.

About Pact Collective
Pact is a nonprofit uniting the beauty industry to solve its packaging problem through collective action. As a membership-based collective, Pact works to take responsibility for the beauty industry's packaging problem and to do better by the planet moving forward. The nonprofit serves as an educational resource for this mission, while also working to close the loop on the industry's hard-to-recycle packaging through its innovative collection programs.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Jamie McCroskery
[email protected]

Pact Collective
[email protected]

SOURCE Bluebird