Ulta Beauty's Beauty Drop-Off Becomes Largest US Beauty Store Take-Back Program
In collaboration with the packaging waste solutions non-profit Pact Collective, as of Monday, Ulta Beauty has rolled out an expansion of its in-store take-back initiative to its more than 1,350 U.S. stores. With new expansion, Ulta Beauty’s Beauty Drop-Off becomes largest US beauty store take-back program. The company and Pact first piloted the program, dubbed Beauty Drop-Off, in 2023. At the time, take-back services were introduced in 90 of its stores.
The Mission to Reduce Packaging Waste
Beauty product packaging most often ends up in landfills, and Ulta believes the new access to its take-back program will help customers shift their habits. “Today’s consumers are more conscious about the beauty products they use and making sure they make guided choices about their impact on the planet,” said Kristin Wolf, Ulta Beauty’s svp of enterprise strategy and transformation. “This initiative gives our customers a seamless and responsible solution to discard their empty packaging, as well as their hard-to-recycle empty packaging.”
According to experts, the complexity of beauty packaging recycling has to do with the colors and types of plastics used, among other factors. Wolf noted that “Most people aren’t aware that beauty packaging [elements] that are typically smaller than the size of a fist, like the pumps and the spray tops, are not curbside recyclable. So when people throw them in their home recycling bin, they go straight to the landfill.”
Program Mechanics and Education
The expansion of Beauty Drop-Off places collection bins where customers can deposit their beauty product empties in all Ulta stores. These items are then processed by Pact Collective through methods including upcycling, downcycling, molecular recycling and waste-to-energy conversion. These bins not only facilitate recycling, but they also educate customers about the environmental impact of their disposal choices through visuals and information on their exterior. Customers can use the drop-off for free.
Insights on Customer Demand and Sustainability Goals
| Key Metric | Data Point |
|---|---|
| Current participating Ulta Beauty stores | More than 1,350 |
| Gen-Z and younger-millennial interest in clean beauty | 90% |
| Overall customer interest in purchasing clean beauty products | 86% |
| Customer interest in recycling empties in-store | 64% |
| Goal for assortment to be recyclable, refillable, or bio-sourced by 2025 | 50% |
Expansion of the Conscious Beauty Program
Around half of the brands featured in Ulta Beauty’s assortment are part of its Conscious Beauty program, which mandates adherence to at least one of five pillars: clean ingredients, cruelty-free practices, vegan products, sustainable packaging or making a positive impact. Since its inception in 2020, the Conscious Beauty program has seen a 14% increase in certifications annually, as detailed in Ulta’s 2022 ESG report from April 2023. To meet the growing demand, the company has introduced over 300 certified brands within its Conscious Beauty assortment.
In addition, Ulta Beauty works with compliance platform Novi Connect to verify Conscious Beauty brands and products as they enter its assortment. Ulta also works with an advisory council that it announced in 2022 to help brands deliver on their sustainability commitments across formulations, marketing and packaging. Other beauty brands and companies that have partnered with Pact include Sephora, Fenty Beauty and Ilia.
