Origins

Origins has made ingredient commitments to lower its environmental impact, including by avoiding parabens, phthalates, select petrochemical-based ingredients, uncertified palm oil, and microplastics. However, it still uses many ingredients that pose a significant threat to the climate, including microplastics, harmful sun care ingredients, and other petrochemical-based ingredients. Its products incorporate bio-based and organic ingredients. Origins doesn't report having any product or company-level certifications.

Origins has made efforts to minimize the amount of material used in its product containers, including by redesigning jars to use up to 40% less material. It's making efforts to reduce virgin plastic in its product containers, both by lightweighting bottles and by increasing recycled content. It's currently only at 30% recycled content. It also uses FSC-certified or recycled cardboard in its packaging. Origins offsets the shipping emissions of all its USA online orders.

Origins shares brief information on its energy strategy, stating that it uses RECs for a small portion of its energy needs. Its parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, uses some renewable energy to power its production sites and corporate offices, and has vague plans to renewable energy. Estee Lauder Companies implements energy efficiency measures in its production sites and corporate offices. It also implements water conservation measures, including addressing water withdrawal and wastewater recycling. Origins has a global production span, which is standard for the industry.

Origins doesn't utilize any alternative models or formulations to avert waste. It offers bulk sizes for some products, which may help reduce packaging waste.

Origins offers seasonal products or frequent releases, which can encourage overconsumption and production of excess inventory.

Commons is still evaluating this brand's marketing emails.

Origins has a series of prominent sustainability pages with high-level details on its climate strategy. The titles of these pages are sometimes misleading. Its parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, publishes a detailed annual report with a clear, impact-driven strategy and progress reporting. Its last annual report was published in 2023. Origins shares a complete list of ingredients used in its products, on a per product basis. Its centralized ingredients page is misleading and only lists biobased ingredients, leaving out many things, e.g. petrochemical-based ingredients.

Origins' parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, internally measures and publicly reports its company-level emissions in partnership with, or with auditing from, a third party. It includes a breakdown by scope and identifies its top driver of emissions. The last reporting period was 2023. In its most recent update, its estimated emissions footprint was 2,062,976 tons CO2e.

Origins' parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, has SBTi-approved emissions reduction targets for the medium-term (5-10 years). It has reported on its progress within the past year, and is on track for some of its targets. Estee Lauder Companies offsets emissions from its corporate operations.

Origins' parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, doesn't publish information about its supply chain partners, but it states it traces some of its supply chain. It publicly shares a supplier code of conduct, which prohibits forced labor and bans child labor. Its code of conduct doesn't address unauthorized subcontracting, ensuring the right to collective bargaining, ensuring living wages, establishing grievance mechanisms, or environmental clauses. Estee Lauder Companies has a stated policy of regularly auditing its supply chain partners, which can mitigate human and environmental risks.

Origins' parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, discloses all of its trade association memberships, including those that are climate-obstructive. It's a member of 2 large climate-obstructive trade associations: US Chamber of Commerce, and Personal Care Products Council, and it isn't a member of advocacy organizations advancing climate policy. Estee Lauder Companies employs state lobbyists with few fossil fuel aligned clients. It didn't donate more than $100k to climate-obstructive candidates or PACs from 2018-2024.