Garnier unveils 'no rinse' conditioner: We want to help change 'day-to-day beauty routines’, says president

The launch formed part of a wider ‘Green Step’ beauty campaign from Garnier designed to encourage consumers worldwide to engage with sustainable action but also voice commitments on social media using the hashtag #OneGreenStep.

Garnier’s ‘no rinse’ conditioner range featured four formulas, each manufactured in carbon neutral, waterloop factories and packaged in lighter cardboard integrated tubes with 75% less plastic, boasting an overall carbon footprint reduction of 92% per tube compared to a traditional 200ml bottled conditioner.

Shaking up beauty routines – ‘changing the way’ consumers wash their hair​

Mathieu Richomme, sustainability project manager at Garnier, said: “The launch of the new ‘no rinse’ hair conditioner is about challenging the way we think about our daily routine and how we can make small changes, every day, to lessen our impact on the planet. If people want to be more sustainable then they need to be willing to make small changes to their lives – even if it means changing the way they wash their hair.”​

Encouraging consumers to skip the rinse step traditionally associated with conditioners, he said, could considerably save water use at-home – around seven litres per wash. And this, combined with the greener manufacturing process at Garnier’s carbon neutral, waterloop factories, meant each ‘no rinse’ conditioner tube was estimated to save around 100 litres of water compared to a traditional conditioner.

At-home showering and bathing was considered one of the most critical water use stages of beauty and a space many of the big brands, including L’Oréal and Unilever, were increasingly looking to address. As part of Garnier’s wider Green Step campaign, the brand would be featuring online guides to simple sustainable beauty actions, with tips on issues like reducing water use at home.

One Green Step report – 83% of people worldwide want to be more sustainable​

Accompanying the launch and campaign, Garnier released results from its second annual ‘One Green Step’ report, conducted by Opinion Matters via a global survey in November and December 2021 amongst 29,000 respondents in the US, UK, Spain, Germany, France, UAE, Brazil, India and Indonesia.

Findings showed 83% of people wanted to be more sustainable, up from 81% the previous year, with the biggest green intent seen in Germany and the US where almost 90% of adult consumers agreed the past year had made them more determined to change.

Despite this global sentiment, however, only 5% considered themselves already acting sustainably and just 30% were ready to take action, according to survey findings.

Adrien Koskas, global president of Garnier, said this was a motivation behind the launch of the mass beauty no rinse conditioner and the brand’s wider green beauty vision. Back in November 2020, Garnier also launched a solid shampoo bar range under its Ultimate Blends brand​ in a move to take green alternatives squarely into mass beauty.

“Garnier’s mission is to make green beauty accessible to all,”​ Koskas said. Yet, he said there was work yet to be done with the annual research showing choice, education and cost remained the “three main barriers to acting sustainably”. ​

Garnier wants to ‘lead the way’ with ‘affordable and sustainable’ beauty innovation​

As one of the world’s largest mass beauty brands, therefore, Garnier had a responsibility to “lead the way” ​with “affordable and sustainable product innovation, as well as education”,​ he said.

“We know it is our responsibility to become more sustainable as a brand, but also to help our consumers take green steps too. That’s why developing sustainable innovations, like our newly launched no rinse conditioner, which actually help change people’s day-to-day beauty routines, are such a priority for us.”​

On the education side, Koskas said Garnier’s One Green Step campaign would play an important role as it encouraged consumers to “step beyond their day to day sustainable behaviours and challenge themselves”. ​

With the no rinse conditioner launch and global green beauty campaign, he said Garnier was hoping to create a “snowball effect of sustainable action”.​

The Garnier brand president previously told CosmeticsDesign-Europe ‘taking consumers with us’ would be critical in mainstreaming circular beauty​. Koskas was talking to peers at our exclusive online Circular Beauty webinar last year, still available to watch in full on-demand here​​.