Nicolas Gerlier
Portrait
President and Founder of the first eco-friendly luxury makeup brand.
It was when I joined L'Oréal that I really discovered the beauty industry and became obsessed with makeup. I quickly discovered that this industry was really lagging behind in terms of CSR. So in 2016, I came up with La Bouche Rouge with one goal: to reconcile luxury and eco-responsibility.
What is the genesis of your project?
The project was inspired by the condition of the oceans today and the plastic pollution generated by the products we consume on a daily basis including cosmetics which is the third major player in global plastic pollution.
What are your objectives in terms of sustainable development?
Our goal is to work as a brand to ensure that the beauty industry is no longer the third largest contributor to global plastic pollution.
What is your major challenge in terms of improvement within 2 years?
To make this goal universal and to inspire the entire beauty industry to make it a collective goal.
Your definition of "sustainable luxury" ?
Sustainable luxury is better for you and better for the planet.
Why join 1.618?
We are joining 1.618 because we want the opportunity to partner with activists and companies that share our values and culture so that together we can do more than we could alone.
How do you react to greenwashing?
Greenwashing is a real problem.
Sustainability has become a consumer trend, which was not the case 5 years ago when we started this reflection on makeup.
Today, people are trying to graft themselves into it as it’s becoming commercially important.
The best way to control greenwashing is to observe if companies who launch new brands or sustainable products at least go through the trouble of aligning their words with their action by offering truly sustainable and clean products.
Those who continue to launch products as before, who are not sustainable and say that in 2032 there will be a change, for me that is greenwashing.
