bareLUXE Skincare, a clean and vegan beauty brand specializing in face oil serums, has announced a hold on its refill packet program. This decision reflects bareLUXE’s ongoing commitment to balancing sustainability with uncompromising product quality.
The now shuttered refill program reduced shipping bulk by 60%, plastic use by 30%, and lowered the carbon footprint, saving 3 grams of plastic per packet while offering improved curbside recyclability compared to standard packaging.
Despite the relatively small scale of the impact, the program was seen as valuable, even with added costs. “Saving 3 grams of plastic per product might not seem like much, especially for an indie brand that doesn’t sell millions of units,” explains Dr. Heather Smith, founder of bareLUXE.
A key challenge arose due to plastic’s permeability. Unlike glass, which is essentially impermeable, plastic allows oxygen to pass through, reducing product shelf life. Although this was accounted for in the design phase, real-world use revealed unpredictable rates of oxidation. Simulated stability testing, a standard industry practice, failed to fully replicate how products would fare in various storage and shipping conditions. “Traditional testing doesn’t always capture the complexities of real-world usage,” Dr. Smith notes.
Independent market research conducted and published by bareLUXE in 2023 highlighted similar challenges faced by other skincare brands in developing refill programs. The report identified barriers including logistics and shipping concerns, contamination and preservation challenges, and the high cost of materials or meeting minimum order quantities. “These findings align with our experience, emphasizing the difficulty of implementing refill programs sustainably at scale,” says Dr. Smith.
While there were no safety concerns, the unpredictable oxidation could affect product freshness and effectiveness. “That type of compromise is completely unacceptable at bareLUXE,” Dr. Smith emphasizes. “A larger brand could manage this with rapid inventory turnover, but for us, it led to increased waste,” Dr. Smith explains. “The idea of continuing to sell products that might become outdated or less effective without warning wasn’t an option. Despite our commitment to refills, we had no choice but to pause the program in its current form.”
While the refill program is on hold, the brand remains dedicated to finding sustainable solutions without sacrificing quality. “This pause is an opportunity to innovate in ways that align with both our environmental goals and the premium standards our customers expect,” Dr. Smith concludes.
No units of the affected products are in circulation, and the issue poses no health or safety risk.
