Interview with Samira Choupin about LVHM’s appplication of Avantium’s bio-based Polyethylene Furanoate (PEF)

LVMH (Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S.A.) was founded in 1987. The Group is active in six sectors of the luxury market: Wines & Spirits, Fashion & Leather Goods, Perfumes & Cosmetics, Watches & Jewelry Selective Retailing and Press, Culture & Art of Living. LVMH owns 75 Maisons including many well-known brands, e. g. Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Hennessy, Dior, Moët & Chandon, Fenty Beauty und Tiffany & Co. The Group currently employs over 196,000 people across the world and reported sales of 79,2 billion euros in 2022. 

In that same year, LVMH joined the PEFerence consortium. PEFerence is an EU flagship project to establish a supply chain for FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) and the new bio-based polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate, derived from FDCA). In the summer of 2022, LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics Houses also signed an offtake agreement for the use of PEF for its cosmetics packaging with Avantium.

More about PEFerence: https://peference.eu

What was the main motivation to start investigating in the use of bio-based polymers as packaging material for LVMH beauty products?

LVMH group has an ambitious sustainable strategy: zero plastic from virgin fossil oil and 100% of our new products will result from sustainable design in 2030. We are looking for sustainable packaging, from the origin of the feedstock to the packaging end of life. Thus, biobased materials are obviously part of the solution. 

What are the main sustainability goals that LVMH pursues with the LIFE 360 program?

Since its creation, the Group wanted to make sustainable development one of its strategic axes.

In 2012, the creation of the LIFE program (LVMH Initiatives For the Environment) anchored sustainable development in the strategic plan of each House of the Group.

LIFE 360 is the new environmental performance roadmap for the LVMH Group for the coming 3, 6 and 10 years with four pillars: 

• Protect biodiversity, with an emphasis on two areas: support for the Man and Biosphere program in partnership with UNESCO, and pilot trials, such as regenerative agriculture for the Wines & Spirits sector. LVMH also partners with Canopy on forest conservation.

• Fight climate change thanks to LVMH’s commitment to pursue efforts to improve the energy performance of its sites and stores, focusing on CO₂ emissions that are not directly linked to product manufacturing, but result from other stages in the product lifecycle, including transportation, procurement and use.
• The circular economy, through initiatives such as recycling unsold products, upcycling by making clothes from existing stocks, or identifying alternative materials.
• Transparency to address the expectations of society for more information about products and better traceability.

In which different cosmetics packaging will you use PEF from Avantium’s FDCA Flagship Plant? 

LVMH has selected applications that are key to reach our sustainability goals, together with technical specifications of Avantium’s PEF.  Our first priority is to replace oil-based materials that do not have existing recycling streams. The replacement of oil-based materials packaging with PEF must be “transparent” for the consumer, we are looking for the same level of quality and performance.

What is LVMH’s motivation to invest into (EU) research projects like PEFerence?

At LVMH recherche we think open innovation is a way to innovate faster. EU research projects allow to gather all the expertise needed to develop innovative solutions. 

The European PEFerence project allows LVMH to benefit not only from the PEF material, but also of Avantium’s expertise in this material and making synergies with the other partners in the project.

Within the PEFerence project, you investigate the environmental impact of your PEF Packaging currently under development versus your incumbent solution. Can you already share some first insights from this early-stage LCA?

We are investigating the environmental impact of the PEF packaging vs. incumbent solution together with Avantium. However, we are not yet in the stage that we can share the data due to the ongoing development and confidentiality of the results. 

When do you expect to see the first LVMH cosmetic packaging from Avantium’s PEF in the shelfs?

These packaging solutions are still under development, however end of 2025 seems to be realistic to have the first LVMH cosmetic packaging from Avantium’s PEF on the shelfs.

Source

nova-Institute, original text, 2024-01-23.

Supplier

Avantium Technologies B.V.
Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC)
Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU)
LVMH Group
nova-Institut GmbH

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