The European omnichannel, premium beauty retailer Douglas has committed to ensuring 80% of its corporate brands are vegan by 2030 to align with the growing demand for cruelty-free beauty options.
In addition, Douglas aims to make 100% of the packaging recyclable, recycled, or reusable by 2030. The company will prioritize using paper-based product packaging that complies with third-party certifications. And by 2025, it aims to make 100% of the relevant packaging for new launches meet the respective external standards.
According to the company’s latest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report, it has already made significant progress towards these vegan goals. During the financial year 2022-23, 94% of its brand product launches were vegan, while 30% of the new products contained at least 90% of ingredients derived from natural sources.
In a similar move, after years of commitment to increase its vegan offer, The Body Shop recently became the world’s first global beauty brand to offer a fully vegan portfolio certified by The Vegan Society.
Leader in sustainability
With this new focus on premium vegan beauty, Douglas aims to be Europe’s go-to destination for sustainable, cruelty-free, high-quality beauty products.
The company operates under the Douglas brand across Europe and the Nocibé brand in France and Monaco. Its omnichannel presence spans 22 countries, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland.
To integrate online and offline channels, the retailer operates a 1,850-store network (including 132 franchised stores), including a recent expansion to Belgium and Slovenia. Its online activities involve two ecommerce platforms dedicated to premium beauty products, Parfumdreams and Niche Beauty, offering customers the convenience of shopping online in 19 and 90 countries, respectively.
Reportedly, the group’s sales reached €4,093.9 million in the financial year 2022-23, with an adjusted EBITDA of €725.9 million during the same period.
Sander van der Laan, CEO of the Douglas Group, said in an announcement that the company’s new ESG strategy includes initiatives and measures for climate action, such as minimizing energy consumption in the stores and offices to cutting waste and carbon emissions, reducing packaging, enhancing recycling and reuse, and using sustainable ingredients.
He said: “Today, we have released our updated Douglas Group sustainability strategy and report: As Europe’s number one omnichannel premium beauty destination, we also want to be a leading beauty retailer in sustainability – in our three focus areas People, Planet, and Products.”
