Sustainability Glossary
Much has been said about sustainability, and yet, very little is understood. We want to simplify sustainability for you — starting with this glossary based on Nu Skin Europe Middle East and Africa relevance. While availability of ingredients, packaging or products may vary per market, here is a comprehensive collection of terms to help you research and understand some of the words you may come across in our communications. When we’re better educated, we can take better care of our planet together.
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Bio-resin or bio-pe is an innovative and eco-friendly material made using renewable resources rather than fossil fuels. The bio-resin in the Eco-Pac tubes is sugarcane-based which results in a much more sustainable production process than using traditional plastic and avoids burning fossil fuels. Sugarcane can be replanted easily without disrupting natural ecological cycles and is very water efficient. It goes through an energy-efficient manufacturing process where all sugarcane waste is converted to energy that powers the farms and sometimes even neighboring cities.
This material can be seen in Epoch Glacial Marine Mud, Baobab Body Butter, Yin and Yang Mask, and Sole Solution*.
Our choice of bio-resin tube results in much lower carbon emissions, with a reduction of 79%-95% per tube produced*².
Please check with your local facilities to learn how to recycle these products responsibly.
Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is a technology-based approach to agriculture. CEA ingredients grow within an enclosed environment, ensuring traceability and sustainability from seed to solution. [see Groviv]
A first in the beauty industry, an Eco-Pac tube is a never-before-seen design that eliminates the head and shoulder (i.e. the flip-top cap found in traditional packaging). Removing the head and shoulder in our new Eco-Pac tubes has a positive impact on plastic reduction. Based on 2020 Global sales of Epoch products, Nu Skin will now save approximately 67 tons of virgin plastic each year with this new Eco-Pac design. [see bio-pe]. This percentage is based on a comparison of packaging manufacturing processes assuming the same standard transportation trip from Shanghai to Los Angeles (based on 2020 global sales of Epoch products).
Additionally, the Eco-Pac tubes are made of 100% sugarcane-based bio-resin(bio-pe). The lightweight packaging is plant-based, so it does not include any fossil fuel-based ingredients which has a positive impact on the reduction of C02 emission [see bio-resin].
The Eco-Pac packaging can be seen in Epoch Glacial Marine Mud, Baobab Body Butter, Yin and Yang Mask, Sole Solution*.
Please check with your local facilities to learn how to recycle these products responsibly.
When you see the FSC logo, it means that by choosing this product, you help take care of the world’s forests. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide and supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. FSC certifies forests all over the world to ensure they meet the FSC’s environmental and social standards. Please check with your local facilities to learn how to recycle these products responsibly.
Glass is generally one of the easiest materials to recycle. However, make sure to check your local recycling facilities to confirm that they accept glass. Do not mix clear glass with coloured glass.
Groviv is Nu Skin’s innovative initiative to source ingredients through controlled environments—a technology-based approach to agriculture and ingredient cultivation. Groviv certified ingredients grow within an enclosed growing structure using technologies that ensure optimal conditions from seed to solution. If you see a Groviv mark on a Nu Skin product package, it means the product contains an ingredient or ingredients grown or cultivated through controlled environments.
Plastic is a necessary part of our lives and has many benefits—including packaging for the products we love. We're working hard to reduce single-use plastics through our “5R Goal” [(translation)] but we can't do it alone. As we're working to ensure responsible production, we need your help to dispose the packaging properly.
As recyclability may vary from country to country, please check with your local facilities to learn how best to handle the packaging.
Post-consumer resin (PCR) is the term for plastic that is on its second (or third, fifth, or even seventh!) life. It refers to plastic that has already been recycled and then repurposed into the product packaging you now hold. By increasing the amount of PCR we have in our products, we're reducing the creation of new plastic, resulting in a lower carbon footprint. The percentage listed tells you how much reused material is in the packaging. . As recyclability may vary from country to country, please check with your local facilities to learn how best to handle the packaging.
At Nu Skin, we consider a product “Recycled” if the product has been made out of recycled material, like post-consumer resin [see PCR].
Products that can be refilled for more than one use, i.e. there are systems in place to collect and refill the original packaging. Reduced (5R’s)At Nu Skin, “Reduced” refers to products that have been reduced in weight or volume compared to the previous version of the product and therefore generate less waste.
At Nu Skin, “Renewable” refers to the renewability of the source material (i.e. sugarcane) the package is made from.
Recycled paper(board) or post-consumer fiber/paperboard (PCF) is paper on its second life—meaning that the paper has already been recycled and repurposed into the package you now hold. By increasing the amount of PCF we have in our products, we're reducing the amount of virgin, or new, paper we use. The percentage listed tells you how much reused material is in the packaging.
Palm oil is one of the most land-used efficient oils but when produced in an unsustainable manner, it leads to deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil erosion and water pollution. By committing to use certified palm oil that is responsibly and sustainably sourced in additional product lines going forward, we’re ensuring that the resources we use have a positive environmental impact.
If you see our Sustainability logo appear on the secondary packaging (carton, etc.) of a new or recent Nu Skin product, i it reflects our sustainability efforts.
The TE tab or Tamper-evident tab is the transparent label that seals and prevents the carton of the product from opening. Nu Skin’s Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA’s) TE tabs are made of a 100% wood-based solution.
Nu Skin follows the Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA) guideline, as per which any term that includes “zero” in it should achieve at least 90% diversion from the landfills, incinerators and the environment.
We have committed for all of our products to meet the English “5R” by 2030: they will either be Recyclable, Recycled, Reusable, Renewed and/or Renewable.
Please refer to the trademark glossary page on www.nuskin.com for a list of all registered trademarks
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*Epoch products will transition to its new packaging at different times in different markets, but also in some cases at different times in the same market.
