Unilever Beauty That Cares: journey towards a more sustainable beauty industry

We're not yet done with the first quarter of 2019 and yet we've already discovered a lot of exciting beauty news and revelations; makes me look forward with excitement as to what lies ahead in the next few months!

My most favorite announcement would have to be Unilever's Beauty That Cares campaign. Learn more about it and why 2019 marks Unilever's first, important journey towards a more sustainable local beauty industry and beyond.

We were whisked away to Anya Resort Tagaytay for three days to participate in the Unilever Beauty Summit where they launched the Beauty That Cares movement as well as the newest products under their flagship beauty brands.

Dorothy Dee- Ching, Unilever Philippines Vice President for Personal Care, mused that at the heart of Beauty That Cares is not only the consumer's needs, but advocacy as well. The needs of consumers have become more complex: they want products that promote not only beauty and self- love, but sustainability and inclusivity as well. These sentiments are the inspirations behind Beauty That Cares movement; this 2019, the new Unilever will become more holistic and purpose- driven, more committed to the betterment of society and the environment. 

Beauty That Cares is the guiding force behind Unilever's new products and projects that champion inclusivity, sustainability, and aim to close the gap in the consumption process.

The Refillery is perhaps the biggest and most exciting reveal in the summit for me; I've always believed that more than recycling, reusing is one of the biggest keys to sustainable living that's why I'm mega excited for this. 

If you have been reading articles online, Unilever has already adopted the reuse concept for the US market in partnership with Loop, a service and logistics arm by TerraCycle, a New Jersey- based recycling company; Loop is a subscription- based beauty service that allows consumers to replenish their favorite beauty products in their reusable containers every month or as needed.

In the Philippines, the Refillery is the realization of this concept.

The Refillery is basically a refilling station for some of Unilever's best- selling shampoo and conditioner variants namely Dove Straight and Silky, Tresemme Keratin Smooth, Sunsilk Smooth and Manageable, and Creamsilk Standout Straight. Why only these, you ask? The Refillery is a very new concept in the Philippines and these are the pilot products; I suppose these are Unilever's high volume products in terms of sales and it's only logical to start with these to effectively launch a new shopping concept.

Buying at The Refillery will not only save the environment, but your money as well. According to a Unilever representative in the event, it's about 20% cheaper at The Refillery compared to buying a new bottle. What's even better is you can buy by the gram.

To buy at The Refillery, all you have to do is bring old bottles of the exact variants available in the station. This means that if you want to refill Dove Straight and Silky shampoo, then bring the same, empty bottle you have at home. They do not allow refilling using bottles from different brands (even Unilever- owned brands) to maintain the integrity of the products and formula. An alternative is to buy recyclable empty bottles on site; it's only P10.00 each. All Things Hair has just announced that the recyclable Refillery bottle is free if you surrender an empty shampoo or conditioner bottle; just be sure to reuse the bottles!

The Refillery has launched in Trinoma, Greenbelt, and Alabang Town Center last March 23, 2019. If the concept thrives, Unilever will start exploring a roll out to their other brands. I highly encourage everyone to support this!

For more information, just visit ALL THINGS HAIR on Facebook.

This year, expect to see more of Love, Beauty, and Planet, Unilever's attempt at a sustainable mass beauty brand. If you want to learn more about this brand, read all about it HERE. 

Dove has always been advocating self- love and acceptance in all of their campaigns; I've attended one of their events before and their global research revealed that self- esteem of women around the world has increased to 4% from 2% in 2004 after all these hardworking campaigns; that says a lot about the efficacy of Dove's advocacy and it also says a lot about the long, hard journey that we still have to take to raise women's self- esteem worldwide.

Self- esteem is cultivated in the early stages of life and it is crucial for a child to have a supportive, loving environment in order to nurture positive perceptions of themselves, thus Dove started a partnership with Cartoon Network called DOVE SELF- ESTEEM PROJECT; starring characters from the famous cartoon, Steven Universe, Dove commissioned Cartoon Network to create mini films discussing pressing issues among the youth of today such as body issues, confidence, and social media envy among other things; Dove works with DepEd, schools, and parents to discuss how these issues can be addressed effectively as a community.

For more details about the campaign, visit DOVE PHILIPPINES on Facebook.

Closeup main theme for 2019 is love--love in all shapes, sizes, forms, ages, and gender. Closeup #FreeToLove campaign celebrates diversity in relationships; the campaign aims to encourage acceptance, inspire freedom, and promote inclusivity; they hope that one day, everyone will come to accept that every person is free to choose their kind of love.

For more details about the campaign, visit CLOSEUP PHILIPPINES on Facebook.

Tresemme takes one step towards eco- friendly beauty with Tresemme Compressed Micro Mist, a new hairspray range in a compressed packaging; this means less gas used, less metal used, but same amount of product as the classic Tresemme hair spray packaging. 

Visit TRESEMME PHILIPPINES on Facebook for more information

Unilever's Beauty That Cares movement matters this 2019 and beyond because the participation of a mega company will pave the way of success for smaller, sustainability- driven start ups and advance the fight against environmental destruction in many ways; because mega companies have the power,  capacity, reach, and authority to direct consumer behavior in a big way. This change in brand consciousness also owes a lot to consumers who have been lobbying for companies to adopt a more eco- friendly business strategy through activism and in the smallest yet most powerful way we can control, our buying habits. 

But we must always remember, in order for this movement to thrive, it also needs our utmost support and bottomline, we need to address our buying habits and change our approach towards living; sustainable companies, choices, habits, and hopefully, supportive governments--everything must come together!

One of my favorite business gurus, Mark Cuban, once said that Sustainable Capitalism is the future of Capitalism; this new age economic structure enforces a circular economy where investment is divided equally among the company, resources, and the workforce, where sustainability stands at the core, and where externalities are reduced by making positively impactful, long- term decisions. Unilever may be a long way from this total shift, but what I have learned to be important in all journeys is taking that one step every time.