Guerlain Commits To Ethical Sourcing by Joining UEBT

Guerlain has joined the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), the non-profit association that promotes sourcing with respect.
 
The LVMH-owned beauty house joins a group of 70 other companies that are part of UEBT and make even more progress to source their ingredients in line with the UEBT Ethical BioTrade standard.  These companies are involved in natural ingredient supply chains in the food, cosmetics and natural pharmaceutical sectors.
 
UEBT was founded in 2007 at the initiative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which sought to promote business engagement in the ethical sourcing of biodiversity. It supports and verifies companies’ commitments to sourcing that contribute to a world in which people and biodiversity thrive.
 
“Gaining UEBT membership was a crucial step for us, and in line with our commitment to biodiversity.  Since 1828 nature has been the source of inspiration for Guerlain products, so we are proud to share with consumers that we have an independently verified commitment to align our sourcing with a standard that covers important social and environmental issues we all care about,” said Cecile Lochard, Guerlain’s chief sustainability officer.   
 
The brand’s commitment includes a plan to begin with its 40 most emblematic ingredients.  These will be assessed by UEBT, including its Damask roses from Turkey and Bulgaria, among many others.  
 
UEBT will look at Guerlain’s responsible sourcing practices in each of these ingredients and the company will set up plans for improvements with respect to people and biodiversity.  As part of this approach, Guerlain aims to achieve UEBT certification of these ingredients by 2026. 
 
UEBT’s standard covers issues such as conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use of its components; fair prices; living income; respect for indigenous people and local communities; human, children and workers' rights; local development and food security. The UEBT standard pertains to ingredients from biodiversity including parts and compounds, such as leaves, roots, seeds, oils, extracts, waxes, colorants and flavors. 

“For us, nature has been part of our company’s ethos for almost two hundred years. We are driven by a duty to act and to preserve our precious world for the next generations. For many years now we have been acting on this ethos, such as placing the preservation of bees at the heart of our work with several meaningful partnerships. It is therefore particularly sweet that this announcement comes just after World Bee Day as well.  The UEBT standard contains some of the most rigorous requirements on biodiversity, including practices that promote pollinators like bees,” said Lochard.

“It is wonderful to see such an important and iconic French brand signal their commitment to ethical sourcing.  By committing to improving how their suppliers collect and grow ingredients from nature in line with our internationally recognized standard, Guerlain is at the forefront of their sector.  They are responding to the ever-rising expectations of consumers today that brands should protect biodiversity and the communities where raw materials are harvested,” said Rik Kutsch Lojenga, UEBT’s executive director.

Bee Line for Guerlain
From May 20-22, Guerlain marked World Bee Day and the International Day for Biological Diversity by donating 20% of its donating 20% of its worldwide sales, plus 20 euros for every repost of the World Bee Day Instagram image posted by Guerlain with the #GuerlainForBees and #WorldBeeDay campaign hashtags . The brand aims to raise up to one million euros to strengthen the Guerlain For Bees Conservation Program, which spans six partnerships to help protect bees. 

Bees have been inspiring Guerlain ever since they first alighted on its iconic Bee bottle in 1853. Now the symbol of the Maison, they continue to inspire Guerlain creations, adorning its most precious bottles and informing artistic collaborations, according to the brand. 

“A fund-raising drive of this magnitude is unprecedented for Guerlain. Our goal is to go even further in our commitment to bees, these wonders of nature that inspire our creations and guide our commitments. This is an essential priority for Guerlain, and protecting bees figures at the heart of our Purpose,” said Lochard.