Rewilding and YSL Beauty

No, we’re not talking about rewilding our skin (even though that’s a thing), we’re talking about rewilding our Earth.

A little under a year ago, Yves Saint Laurent Beauty confirmed the launch of an ambitious sustainability programme called REWILD OUR EARTH. In partnership with an international NGO called Re:wild, the popular beauty brand pledged to protect and restore 100,000 hectares of land where YSL source their ingredients by 2030. A-mazing!

The initiative targets areas where the brand accesses raw materials and ingredients such as patchouli and geranium, empowering local communities along the way to support their environment. Locations from Indonesia to Madagascar will benefit from YSL’s bold sustainability programme in the next seven years and beyond.

Since its launch in 2022, YSL has made even bigger strides in paving the way for more environmental change. The latest endeavours in December 2022 saw YSL expand its commitment with a Canadian launch that aimed to protect a biodiversity hotspot known as the South Okanagan Grasslands.

We’ve got to hand it to them - it’s not even been a year and YSL is leading the way in what appears to be a beauty rewilding revolution. But what does this all mean, and what can we expect in 2023? Let’s take a look.

YSL’s partnership with global NGO, Re:wild.

What is rewilding?

Let’s start with the basics. Rewilding has become somewhat of a buzzword in the last year as climate change challenges became too impossible to ignore. 2022 has been identified as the year that rewilding “went mainstream.” The Oxford Languages Dictionary concludes that rewilding is to:

“restore (an area of land) to its natural uncultivated state (used especially concerning the reintroduction of species of wild animal that have been driven out or exterminated).”

In short, rewilding means taking a little bit of initiative to encourage nature to do its own thing. The rest is down to Mother Earth herself.

In the case of YSL, the brand’s mission has been to reverse desertification occurring in certain locations. It also aims to restore forests and environments to preserve the natural order and biodiversity within four key areas: Morocco, Haiti, Madagascar and Indonesia.

A brief history of YSL’s rewilding journey

YSL’s amazing sustainability initiatives didn’t just start last year. The beauty brand has been at the helm of an environmental revolution for quite some time.

According to the GM of YSL Beauty, Carl D. Morisset, it all started with Mr Saint Laurent himself.

"A commitment to the Earth lies at the heart of the YSL Beauty brand, inspired by the legacy of Mr Saint Laurent, a nature lover who drew inspiration from the natural wonders of Morocco throughout his career.”

Raised in French Algeria in the 1940s, it is understood that Yves first visited Morocco in 1966 with his partner Pierre Bergé. The pair fell in love with the nature and landscapes of the North-African country and drew a lot of inspiration from the location (and its colours) throughout their lives. Yves even bought the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakesh to preserve the nature of the small botanical garden. It has since become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Morocco.

Of course, YSL has exploded into one of the world’s most renowned fashion and beauty houses. And, Yves's disruptive vision of challenging the status quo remains at the heart of all the brand’s decisions. That’s why rewilding is a prominent focus.

One of their most notable initiatives kicked off in 2013 -- long before rewilding was even a “thing” in mainstream culture. At the time, the brand created the Ourika Community Gardens in Morocco’s Atlas mountains to support a women’s cooperative working there. Teaching the community how to cultivate natural ingredients with care while also serving as a space for botanical research and sustainability.

By 2021, YSL Beauty was a proud member of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration as their mission to support a wild world continued at an impressive rate.

How the beauty industry is embracing a wild Earth

Aside from YSL’s impressive commitment to protecting our planet, other beauty, skincare and hair care brands have also clocked onto the power of rewilding. Within the last few years, there’s been an explosion of sustainability initiatives as these brands become aware of the consumer demand for increased environmental protection.

L’Oréal: The parent company of YSL Beauty confirmed that it was aiming for 95 per cent of its products to come from renewable resources by 2030. It also launched the Fund for Nature Regeneration in efforts to restore 1 million hectares of natural ecosystems.

Lush: The natural beauty and skincare brand is supporting and encouraging communities around the world to reduce unsustainable farming habits. For example, their S.O.S Sumatra campaign restores old palm oil plantations into natural forests again.

Origins: The sustainable skincare brand is involved with a plant-a-tree programme that backs reforestation projects around the world. The brand is on a mission to support areas that have been devastated by wildfires while supporting biodiversity in restoration areas.

Rewilding our future

Rewilding’s mainstream awakening has led to some massive sustainability efforts. From celebrities like Ellie Goulding and Leonardo DiCaprio using their platforms to spread awareness for rewilding initiatives, right down to beauty lovers like yourselves re-sharing sustainable messages on Instagram. Everyone is talking about it, and I think 2023 is going to be no different.

On a more global scale, last month’s COP15 resulted in 200 countries agreeing to stop the loss of biodiversity around our planet. Change is (finally) happening.

As for what this means for the beauty industry, it’s clear that rewilding has emerged as a core value for many major brands that we love. With YSL taking the lead, it’s only a matter of time before others follow suit. Brands that fail to do their bit by helping to restore our Earth risk being left behind in what appears to be a major rewilding movement.