Brands
Garnier goes green: Will ditch virgin plastic, lower carbon emissions
MUMBAI: The Covid2019 pandemic seems to have accelerated the agenda for a greener and cleaner Earth. Sustainable living and environment-friendly actions are top of the agenda for consumers across the globe in 2021. An international survey commissioned by global beauty brand Garnier found that 81 per cent of global consumers want to be more sustainable in 2021, and 44 per cent respondents expect brands to facilitate this, thus proving the importance of green beauty offerings.
With these findings in mind, Garnier has launched its #GreenerWithGarnier initiative which aims to stop using virgin plastic for all packaging by 2025. The company plans to use either reusable, recyclable or compostable materials in all packaging under its sustainability programme, thereby cutting down on 37,000 tonnes of plastic productions every year. Moreover, it has already reduced its CO2 emissions at its factories and manufacturing sites by 72 per cent, it said.
The cosmetic brand further aims to achieve an improved environmental profile for all its new products, transforming all its industrial sites into 100 per cent carbon neutral locations by adopting renewable energy.
Calling 2020 ‘the wakeup call to protect our planet’ Garnier global brand president Adrien Koskas pledged in a statement to lessen the company’s impact on the planet and innovate for a sustainable future. “It will take time, but Green Beauty will transform Garnier, and we hope the beauty industry as a whole," he added. Moreover, from 2022, all plant-based and renewable ingredients used by the company for its products will be sustainably sourced, it noted.
The cosmetics company hopes to usher a huge shift in the way that the beauty industry operates with the launch of the Garnier Green Beauty campaign. A complete end-to-end approach to sustainability, the campaign aims to transform every stage of Garnier’s value chain, thereby reducing its environmental impact in the following ways: greener and cleaner formulas, more recycled and recyclable packaging, more renewable energies; also more actions to fight plastic pollution, by having more empowered communities worldwide as part of its solidarity sourcing programme.
Garnier India general manager Zeenia Bastani said that under the initiative, the company is also working with its suppliers and marginalised community. It has partnered with Plastics For Change to help with the social impact of plastic pollution. "Through this association, Garnier will support the holistic development of waste picker communities in India," it said. Plastics for Change supports education for children, healthcare, nutrition, financial literacy and empowerment of girls and women. By 2025, Garnier will empower 800 communities worldwide as part of its solidarity sourcing programme, she added.
As Garnier India’s brand ambassador, Bollywood actor John Abraham also endorsed his commitment towards the cosmetic brand’s green initiatives.
“With the continuous depletion of our environmental resources over the years, we firmly believe that individual contributions leading to a larger united front will help achieve the set goals,” said Abraham. “Through the Garnier Green Beauty initiative, we are offering an opportunity to all young ambitious Indians to come forward and join us in making small changes in your life today, contributing to a sustainable tomorrow and a greener future.”
The Green Beauty initiative also presents an annual global Sustainability Progress Report, offering complete transparency on Garnier’s commitments. The report can be tracked publicly via the Garnier website and states where Garnier stands today, mapping out the process of how the brand will reach its ambitious 2025 targets.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
