Sustainable Sourcing

" We are very involved at ground level and know our raw products and our suppliers inside out. It demonstrates our credibility throughout the entire process, from the basic seeds right through to the finished products."

Building long-term partnerships based on trust & respect

L'OCCITANE works directly with over 130 French farmers and 10.000 pickers - from the immortelle fields of Corsica to the lavender fields of Provence - to secure as much as possible high quality and sustainable ingredients.

OUR FOUR COMMITMENT PILLARS

The L’OCCITANE brand sees nature as its model and draws inspiration from the natural properties of plants to drive innovation. We are dedicated to developin long-term partnerships with our producers and prioritise short, local integrated channels when sourcing our key ingredients.

Traceability
Sustainability
Fairness
Quality

Traceability

We strive to purchase local produce whenever possible, in order to reduce our carbon footprint and support local business, for the benefit of the social fabric of the region. We give priority to small, integrated networks, to bring added value to the producer and have complete control over the traceability of extracts, from the seeds right up to the finished product.

Sustainability

Our work requires respect for both man and the environment. We make no compromises with regard to the protection of endangered species or the skills of communities.
We do not patent ways of using ingredients that are based on triditions (no biopiracy), but carry out effectiveness tests and work on combinations of ingredients to meet cosmetic needs.

Fairness

For our key ingredients, we build real partnerships that are strengthened, whenever possible, by multi-year contracts with our producers. These contracts guarantee them a minimum purchase volume, which ensures that they have a reliable, lasting outlet for their produce, at a price that is agreed by all parties.
The fairness of our partnerships cal also be found in our North-South trade. Several of our supply chains (shea butter, argan oil, orange blossom floral water) are fair trade approved and we donate a percentage of the purchase price of the raw material to local development projects.

Quality

The growing, harvesting, drying and storage conditions all have an impact on the purity of the plant materials. We guarantee their quality through specifications that are drawn up with our analytical, quality and regulatory departments, and with the help of our technical partners on the ground.
Our key ingredients are, for the most part, organically derived, to guarantee the absence of chemical inputs. The harvesting of wild plants is governed by sustainable harvesting guidelines, to protect the integrety and habitat of these plants.

Traceability

30 Traceable ingredient supply chains with 50% organic certificated

Partners

80 Partnerships with farmers

Pickers

10 000 Pickers working for L'Occitane

IMMORTELLE STORY

Organic Immortelle from Corsica

The large scale organic immortelle plantation programme was launched in Corsica.The initiative unites respect for the environment with equality. Today, this project brings together ten Corsican growers/distillers, who use organic farming methods and have contracts that cover five to seven harvests.

SHEA BUTTER STORY

Shea butter from Burkina Faso

Olivier Baussan, founder of the L’OCCITANE brand, discovered shea butter in Burkina Faso in 1980 : the start of a sustainable joint-development partnership with the women who produce this butter. Since 2015, the Group has been working on projects aimed at protecting the shea tree, reducing the environmental impact of shea butter production while maintaining local skills. Today, over 10,000 women are working in this industry and are able to sell their butter at a price that is twice that of a standard shea butter sold for export.

Ingredients true story

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