Global beauty brand Coty has announced it has started making perfume using carbon-captured ethanol, as part of a plan to integrate recycled carbon into most of its fragrance portfolio by 2023.
The U.S. company said fragrances made using ethanol made from recycled carbon would reach stores within the coming months, after it received its first order of sustainable ethanol at its manufacturing facility in Spain in mid-January.
The ethanol is being supplied to the beauty giant by carbon recycling specialist LanzaTech, which manufactures the product by capturing and fermenting carbon emissions produced at industrial plants before they reach the atmosphere.
Use of carbon captured ethanol can help significantly reduce the fragrance industry’s impact on environment and the climate, the companies said.
The chemical is a key ingredient in the production of fragrances and Coty’s top fragrance ingredient by volume, but growing corn on an industrial scale to mass produce ethanol involves large amounts of water, synthetic fertilizer and herbicide, and can also be a frequent source of nutrient and sediment pollution, all of which affect natural ecosystems.
Coty said carbon captured ethanol would help it reduce its impact on biodiversity and lower the company’s carbon emissions, noting LanzaTech’s ethanol involved “nearly zero” water consumption and reduced the need for agricultural land.
Use of carbon captured ethanol can help significantly reduce the fragrance industry’s impact on environment and the climate, the companies said.
Chief scientist officer Shimei Fan said the use of carbon captured ethanol in Coty’s fragrances put the company on the “leading edge of sustainable fragrance innovation.”
“Coty’s accelerated release [ahead of schedule launch] of fragrances made using carbon-captured ethanol represents the groundbreaking sustainability progress that I joined Coty to lead,” she said. “This exciting step forward in Coty’s sustainability journey demonstrates our ability to meet and exceed the ambitious clean and green roadmaps we have set for the future.”
The product of a two-year collaboration between LanzaTech and Coty which saw scientists develop a “high-purity” sustainable ethanol, Coty said the finished product met the “strict specifications” required for use in perfumery.
“LanzaTech is proud to have made our first delivery of carbon-captured ethanol to Coty ahead of schedule,” said Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech CEO. “After two years of working side by side with Coty scientists to develop a high-purity ethanol suitable for use in fine fragrances, we are excited to see Coty bring the first globally distributed fragrances made from CarbonSmart ethanol to market, so consumers can choose products made from recycled carbon.”
