23 January, 2026

We’re always interested in new innovations in sustainable beauty. So our attention was caught by the unveiling of the first 13 innovators L’Oréal has selected for its €100m Sustainable Innovation Accelerator, L’AcceleratOR. 

Sustainable packaging solutions feature prominently, including fibre-based innovators Blue Ocean Closures, PULPAC and Pulpex, Raiku’s wood-based packaging and bioplastic developer Bioworks. Seaweed based  packaging company Kelpi also joins the cohort, bringing fresh competition for our friends at Notpla.  

As these startup’s usher us towards the future of sustainable packaging, companies tackling hard-to-recycle materials are also taking centre stage. Belgium-based Novobiom is developing methods to harness the power of fungi to break down difficult waste streams into usable materials, while French company REPLACE recycles complex, multi-layer waste. 

Each venture now enters a 6 to 9 month pilot phase supported by L’Oréal and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, giving them a rare opportunity to scale at speed with access to L’Oréal’s global R&D and operations ecosystem. 

Creating change requires practical innovations. It also requires mindset shifts and cultural capital. This is an area where fellow beauty giant Coty is making strides. It is working to link sustainability and luxury through its new focus on ‘eco-desirability’ – showing that sustainability and desirability co-exist and elevate one another. 

There may be some way to go, but we think the combination of bottom up solutions and new paradigms for aspiration has enormous potential.  

By Lucy Bell