Fresh Joins Union for Ethical Biotrade
● The New York-based skin care brand is the first in LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s U.S. portfolio to join UEBT.
Fresh has entered a new partnership to bolster its sustainability efforts.
The New York-based, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned skin care brand has become a member of the Union for Ethical Biotrade, a United Nations spinoff nonprofit that advocates for sustainable ingredient sourcing, respect for biodiversity and equitable socioeconomic practices for all partners.
UEBT has many international members, including French divisions of LVMH brands Kenzo Parfums and Givenchy Parfums. Other members include Firmenich Grasse, Cosmo International Fragrances’ Natural Ingredients Division in France, and Yves Rocher. Fresh is the first U.S.-based, LVMHowned brand to join the organization.
Tennille Kopiasz, chief marketing officer of Fresh, said the brand’s membership was a natural extension of its founder’s mission. “The idea of sourcing with respect is very much in our DNA, and it’s one we felt there was this opportunity to truly make an impact to both people and the environment,” she said.
“It’s about doing things that are right for the people in the communities — not from a marketing perspective, but for a longterm vision,” Kopiasz added. “We created not only short-term but very long-term goals for the next 10 years. It’s not about marketing claims, but it’s about really a long-term commitment until our 40th anniversary in 2031.”
Fresh has added sustainability commitments as conditions of its membership, such as sourcing of its hero ingredients. The brand will finish sourcing assessments for its hero ingredients — rose, soy and lotus among them — by 2023, and ensure improvement plans are in place by 2025. It plans to meet UEBT’s objectives by 2030.
Kopiasz added that, while an organic move for the brand, it was partially due to consumer awareness around sustainability. “We worked with a huge group of scientific experts in LVMH research labs, toxicologists, dermatologists, chemists, biologists and regulatory experts.
Everyone has a critical role,” she said.
“The process is really opening ourselves up and sharing as much information as possible to show this level of transparency. That’s what consumers are looking for.”
From UEBT’s perspective, the partnership creates a path to more recognition in the U.S. market among consumers. “In the past 10 years, this issue of biodiversity and the loss of nature is becoming more of a concern for consumers. We do this research every year, for our Biodiversity Barometer, and what keeps increasing every year is that awareness keeps raising, they know what biodiversity is and they want companies to protect it. However, they don’t think companies are currently protecting it,” said Lara Koritzke, communications and marketing director of UEBT.
“We try to use this research to show companies that there’s a tremendous opportunity to meet the expectations of consumers and have a positive impact on nature and people,” Koritzke continued.