Sustainable beauty news: Garnier REINFORCES its PARTNERSHIP WITH the GREAT BARRIER REEF FOUNDATION and we can all JOIN THE MISSION

Sustainability is a veritable beauty buzzword right now, but being a little more eco-friendly with our beauty choices is more than just a fad — it's the right thing to do for the future of our planet.There has never been a better time to sit back, reflect and most importantly act, when it comes to the amount of waste we generate as human beings. Yes, out there in the seas there are rugby fields’ worth of water bottles, milk cartons, plastic bags and takeout containers. But also: shampoo bottles, lipstick tubes, shadow palettes, powder compacts, lotion pumps, and fancy packaging that once held luscious creams that we hoped would be that elusive Miracle in a Jar. The United Nations has declared the current environmental trajectory as a ‘planetary crisis’, and the cosmetic industry is a gargantuan contributor. The majority of the beauty industry is anything but beautiful, and it’s imperative that leaders within the economy start driving positive environmental change.
Currently, the global cosmetic industry produces 120 billion units of packaging every year. The main source of emissions in the industry comes from this packaging, with only a small percentage accepted by local kerbside recycling programmes. Distressingly, the majority of this enormous figure is destined for landfill every year. If this level of consumption continues there will be 12 billion tonnes of plastic in landfills or scattered through our ecosystems by 2050 – that’s the equivalent of 35,000 Empire State Buildings – which makes for some pretty grim stats. Changes requires a little extra effort from us all, but a shift in routine is getting that little easier by the day thanks to constantly innovating brands.
The L’Oréal Groupe are one of the world’s biggest industry leaders when it comes to an ongoing sustainability trajectory, and their commitment just gets stronger and stronger year upon year. The latest initiative comes from the group's leading mass-market beauty brand, Garnier, which has announced the welcome return of its ‘Plant a Coral’ campaign. This continues its multi-year partnership with globally recognised environmental charity, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to support the survival of one of the natural wonders of the world, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

With 500,000 baby corals already dispersed by Garnier to enhance the resilience of Reefs in the Whitsundays region in 2023, Garnier New Zealand has committed to dispersing 100,000 corals in 2024 through its Plant A Coral campaign. The continued partnership with the Foundation, will see Garnier ANZ continue to help restore damaged areas of the Great Barrier Reef through coral planting, with the number of corals dispersed reaching 1.3 million baby corals in total by the end of 2024. During a trip to Kokomo Island in Fiji a few years ago I saw first-hand the impact that humanity has had on that nation’s coral reefs, and taking part in an afternoon of coral planting was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done
Garnier Australia and New Zealand Marketing Director, Alexander Bachem, said the brand is extremely proud to continue its support for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and play a role in helping restore the world’s largest coral reef system.
“For over 120 years, Garnier has been committed to more sustainable beauty for all of us, with products that offer maximum efficacy for you and reduced impact on the planet. But this commitment goes beyond just our products, and as one of the world’s biggest beauty brands, we feel a strong responsibility to help protect the natural beauty of the world, and what better place to start than the natural wonder that’s right in our backyard – the Great Barrier Reef,” he says.
“This year, we’re proud to increase our support towards the Great Barrier Reef Foundation so that they can continue to disperse baby corals on areas of the Reef that need it most through an innovative technique called Coral IVF, helping the Reef to recover following last summer’s mass coral bleaching event.”
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation is the lead charity for the Reef, formed in response to the first mass coral bleaching of the reef in 1998. The collaborative organisation raises funds, invests in innovative ideas, and designs scalable conservation programs in Australia to help to restore the Reef which stretches over an area of approximately 348,000 square kilometres, which is the equivalent of 70 million football fields.
Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director, Anna Marsden explains that it is thanks to contributions from partners such as Garnier, that the Foundation is able to support the Reef to recover in the face of climate change and other threats.
“Our Great Barrier Reef is an incredible natural wonder, but she is one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet. As we’ve seen from the mass bleaching event the Reef suffered last summer, climate change impacts to the Reef are becoming more frequent and it no longer has enough time to recover naturally. More than ever, it needs help to recover, which is why our partnership with Garnier is so important. It allows us to help restore critical reef habitats for threatened species.”
Garnier’s 2024 Plant A Coral Campaign is live right in New Zealand at all New World and PAK’nSAVE Supermarkets nationally, up to 1 December 2024. For each Garnier product sold at New World and PAK’nSAVE Supermarkets during this time, Garnier New Zealand will support the Great Barrier Reef Foundation in planting up to 100,000 corals on the Great Barrier Reef during the November – December 2024 coral spawning season.

Amazing work Garnier, and if you’re running low on some of your Garnier faves then head in store now!