Business

LANCOME: TREE’S COMPANY IN A WRINKLE-WORRY WORLD

Cosmetics brand Lancome will soon join a fast-growing roster of companies offering customers a chance to feel more Earth-friendly – without giving up their fancy cars or corporate jets.

The company, owned by beauty giant L’Oréal, says it will offset the pollution its manufacturing process creates by planting a tree for each of the first 10,000 bottles sold of its new antioxidant serum, Primordiale Cell Defense, which launches in June, a spokeswoman said.

The program is an alliance with Carbonfund.org, a nonprofit that absolves companies of sin the way people once bought indulgences from the church – with cash.

But how much of the deal works like makeup – to cover up imperfections instead of enhancing natural beauty?

Eric Carlson, who founded Carbonfund.org, says that although the concept of offsetting carbon footprints is often associated with “SUV guilt,” it shouldn’t be.

“Is this about buying your way out? No. Reduce what you can and offset what you can,” Carlson said. “We show people they’re responsible for pollution and that there is something they can do about it,” he added.

Lancome’s initiative began thanks to a request from its trend-setting spokesmodel, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, the daughter of ex-Lancome spokesmodel Isabella Rossellini.

Lancome, for its part, says this is not its first or only eco-chic project.

Lancome labs are now on a “green chemistry” mandate and last year produced its first “green molecule,” Pro-Xylane, which is made from sustainable resources and found in a new product called Absolue Premium Bx.

Carbonfund.org says it wants to generate public awareness about climate change and “make it easy and affordable” for individuals, businesses and groups to reduce their climate impact by supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally that reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions.

The projects fall into three categories: planting trees, supporting renewable wind, solar and biomass energy programs and supporting sustainable energy programs, largely from buying and retiring renewable energy credits at Chicago’s carbon exchange.

The scrappy, Maryland-based nonprofit has seen its fund-raising jump from $40,000 to $800,000 last year alone, Carlson said.