L’Occitane Australia has converted its Westfield Bondi Junction boutique into a Green Store – a world-first for the brand – designed to reduce waste and support the environment as part of the brand’s sustainability mission.

L’Occitane Australia general manager, Pierre-Emmanuel Joffre said, “We are so proud of this achievement and the level of detail from the materials through to the refill fountain. We collaborated across the whole company to think outside the box so that sustainability and reducing waste is at the centre of the boutique, just like L’Occitane’s philosophy, it is in everything we do.”

Working with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the country’s most renowned organisation in green building, the L’Occitane Bondi Junction boutique has been transformed into a fully functional, five-star Design Review rated and to be certified Green Store.

Due to the level of complexity and detail required to meet this standard, only 19% of the 3,000 plus buildings certified by the GBCA are retail and of these, only three retailers have achieved a Green Star rating using the Interiors tool.

“The spirit in which L’Occitane is incorporating Green Star into their retail fit out is exemplary and testimony to how deep L’Occitane’s sustainability values run within their business,”GBCA CEO, Davina Rooney said.

New to the Boutique is L’Occitane’s innovative Refill Fountain, a feature that has been rolled out in selected L’Occitane boutiques in the US, Europe and Asia, offering consumers the opportunity to refill some of their favourite products in their Forever Bottles.

The one-time purchase Forever Bottlesare made from lightweight 100% recyclable aluminium and allow consumers to diminish their environmental footprint, as well as save an average of 20%. The innovative machine also features a pulsed light sterilisation system, which is calibrated to hygienically dispense the exact amount of product refill selected.

Another key feature is the living Green Wallwith a fully integrated irrigation system that acts as a natural air-filter whereby the plants help metabolise toxins in the air, while simultaneously releasing oxygen.

Forging a partnership with Betta Stone, an Australian-based company and pioneers in producing engineered benchtops from recycled glass, L’Occitane were able to supply collected glass from their in-store TerraCycle program for the manufacture of the benchtops and icebreaker sink.

“We are seeing a lot of larger corporations seeking us out and coming on board with utilising this product, for both its sustainability and health benefits, but L’Occitane will be the first who has closed the loop on supplying the materials through their TerraCycle program, to see that tangible benefit of collecting consumers waste and re-purposing it in store is impressive,”Betta Stone owner, Robert Thompson said.

TerraCycle commented, “L’Occitane Australia has always been innovative in this space, being the first beauty brand to adopt the TerraCycle program in 2016. Now L’Occitane will be the first to use their own recycling program waste to build counters and other store surfaces. It is encouraging to see the full cycle being adopted so readily.