Estee Lauder

Estee Lauder doesn't make any ingredient commitments at the brand-level. Its parent company makes some commitments across all owned brands, but it's unclear what applies to this brand. Choice of ingredients is a strong determinant of environmental impact, and this brand still uses many ingredients that pose a significant threat to the climate, including parabens, microplastics, other petrochemical-based ingredients, harmful suncare ingredients, and uncertified mica. It carries products that have certifications from EWG Verified.

Estee Lauder doesn't share information about its packaging. It appears to primarily rely on petro-based plastics for its packaging, of a virgin or unknown source, which greatly increases its emissions and waste footprint. It also uses some environmentally-mindful materials in its packaging, including ones that are recyclable, FSC-certified, or recycled. Estee Lauder hasn't made any efforts to concentrate its products or minimize its containers, which increases shipping emissions and packaging volumes.

Estee Lauder's parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, shares information on its energy strategy. It uses some renewable energy to power its production sites and 100% renewable energy to power its corporate offices. Estee Lauder Companies has targets for expanding its use of renewable energy. It implements energy efficiency measures in its production sites and corporate offices. Estee Lauder has a global production span, which is standard for the industry.

Estee Lauder offers refills, but puts them in packaging that is unidentified or otherwise difficult to dispose of, which adds to landfill waste. It doesn't offer any take back programs for its product containers. It offers bulk sizes for some products, which may help reduce packaging waste. It provides recycling and/or disposal guidance for some of its products.

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

Commons is still evaluating this brand's marketing emails.

Estee Lauder 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 2024. Estee Lauder shares a complete list of ingredients used in its products, on a per product basis.

Estee Lauder'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. The last reporting period was 2024. In its most recent update, its estimated emissions footprint was 2,062,976 tons CO2e.

Estee Lauder'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. It offsets emissions from its corporate operations.

Estee Lauder's parent company, Estee Lauder Companies, publishes limited information about its supply chain partners. It traces some of its supply chain. It publicly shares a supplier code of conduct, which prohibits forced labor but does not disallow unauthorized subcontracting, ensure the right to collective bargaining, ensure a living wage, establish grievance mechanisms, prohibit child labor, or include environmental clauses. Estee Lauder Companies doesn't have a stated policy of regularly auditing its supply chain partners. This may increase human and environmental risks.

Estee Lauder'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: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Personal Care Products Council. It isn't a member of advocacy organizations advancing climate policy. Estee Lauder Companies employs state lobbyists with few fossil fuel aligned clients. Estee Lauder Companies didn't donate more than $100k to climate-obstructive candidates or PACs from 2018-2024.