Natura Cosmeticos has long been considered a leader in sustainability, known for materials and marketing innovations that aim to reflect its tagline of “well being/being well.” The Brazilian cosmetics maker has been recognized by organizations such as Corporate Knights, the U.N. Environmental Program, SustainAbility and the Boston Consulting Group.
For instance, as a founding member of the Union for Bioethical Trade, Natura has promised to source ingredients sustainably without harming biodiversity, including getting one-third of its raw materials from the Amazon.
The company is currently working on Programa Amazonia, a plan to inaugurate its Ecoparque — a 1.7-million-square-meter closed-cycle industrial complex in the Amazon region — in March. The company hopes to eliminate waste and guarantee a clean destination for biproducts from Amazonian fruits, oils and berries that are used to produce its cosmetics. The plan also will involve the application of innovations from process and product research.
“For example, we press the seeds from a certain palm tree or passion fruit and the rest is discarded,” said Renata Puchala, manager of Natura’s Amazonia Program. “At the other end, after we process the seeds, there is natural waste that needs a proper destination to close the full cycle.”
According to Puchala, Natura is in talks with other companies to form partnerships in