The Body Shop International has become the first company in the beauty industry to commit to an effort to industrialize AirCarbon, a thermoplastic material formed from greenhouse gasses, as part of a new initiative to reduce oil-based packaging across its range.

The ethical beauty business has entered a development partnership with California-based Newlight Technologies, creators of AirCarbon, as the first step towards a new global initiative that will see its use of oil-based plastic packaging drop 70 percent by 2020.

“The Body Shop is a company that has pioneered different ways of thinking, a legacy we’re immensely proud of,” said Christopher Davis, International Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at The Body Shop International. “We want to take action to reduce our impact on the planet, radically reinterpreting the way we sell and buy cosmetics and how our customers use them. We are inviting global experts to support us in achieving this goal, a journey that will ensure 70 percent of our product packaging does not contain oil-based plastics by 2020.

“The impact of our research commitment with Newlight we hope will support this global business in increasing resource efficiency of product packaging, providing market access to new ways of buying and using The Body Shop products and services and increasing the perceived value of packaging and materials.”

Mark Herrema, CEO at Newlight added, “We are proud to work with The Body Shop to help them replace oil-based plastics with AirCarbon, and use captured carbon as a source of good.”