Clinique

Clinique has made ingredient commitments to lower its environmental impact, including by avoiding parabens, phthalates, other petrochemical-based ingredients, and uncertified palm oil or palm oil-derived ingredients. While it has made commitments, it still uses many ingredients that pose a significant threat to the climate, such as other petrochemical-based ingredients and harmful suncare ingredients, including octinoxate. Its products incorporate bio-based and/or biodegradable ingredients. Clinique doesn't report having any product or company-level certifications.

Clinique hasn't made any efforts to concentrate its products or minimize its containers, which increases shipping emissions and packaging volumes. It has made some efforts to reduce virgin plastic in its product containers, but appears to still heavily rely on virgin plastic, which increases its emissions. We hope to see more transparency from this brand on its container materials in the future. Its shipping packaging includes materials that are 100% recycled.

Clinique shares brief information on its energy strategy, stating that it uses RECs for its data center 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 expand its 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. Clinique has a global production span, which is standard for the industry.

Clinique doesn't appear to utilize any alternative models or formulations to avert waste. Its parent company references limited takeback programs for the brand, but Commons couldn't find supporting evidence. Clinique offers bulk sizes for some products, which may help reduce packaging waste.

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

Commons is still evaluating this brand's marketing emails.

Clinique has a sustainability page with high-level details on its climate strategy, but this page is hard to find on its website. 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. Clinique shares a complete list of ingredients used in its products, on a per product basis. Its centralized ingredients page is misleading and only lists select ingredients, leaving out many things, e.g. petrochemical-based ingredients.

Clinique's 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.

Clinique's 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.

Clinique's 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 actionable environmental clauses. Estee Lauder Companies has a stated policy of regularly auditing its supply chain partners, which can mitigate human and environmental risks.

Clinique's 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.