*Originally released in March 2009*

1) When did Thalgo make the decision to change their formulas?

The company decided to apply a new formulation charter for the launch of our new cleansing line in September 2008. Taking into account the necessary development time, the decision was taken in September 2007. At that time, the market was already talking a lot about organic products and the necessity of changing the uses within the industry.
Not only for skincare, the world market has been changing, promoting a comeback to a more natural approach, and protecting the environment.

2) How was it decided which ingredients to omit from the formulae?

It was not easy to decide since a formula including marine ingredients is more difficult to keep stable than a formula including plant extracts. The media were very much against the preservatives, particularly parabens which are the most efficient ones in the market place.
Therefore, we have decided to stop using parabens as well as mineral oils, propylen glycol, OGM and ingredients from animal origin.

3) How was it decided to include new ingredients and why?

New ingredients are alternatives to those cancelled and remain from marine and vegetal origins. We carefully check with our supplier that they fulfill our new charter and only supply acceptable ingredients.

4) How has the Thalgo brand benefited?

The objective is to maintain the same efficiency using more "natural" ingredients. The benefit will be important in terms of image since none of our competitors except Pevonia are using this policy. In the salon industry, you have major organic brands on one side like Phyt's, Doc Hauschka, and Jurlique which have easy to use efficient formulas and on the other side, you have very small brands coming from dedicated organic shops which do not correspond to the expectations of our clientele in terms of use, smell and efficiency. There is space for a brand like Thalgo in between keeping its own standards but in a more natural way to meet the salon clientele expectations.

5) How have Thalgo customers benefited?

In terms of image and clientele perception; both the therapist and the end user feel safer with Thalgo using new preservatives and having a more environmental approach. The customers are ready to go organic while maintain the same level of quality and comfort of before. Thalgo delivers just that.

6) Will the entire range be converted to this new formulation charter?

Yes, our plan is to have the entire line converted to this more eco-friendly approach.

7) Please give some examples of sustainable development practices within the organization.

The Thalgo sustainable development policy is involving all the collaborators, whatever their position in the company, through a collective commitment:

1) Choosing priority raw materials with marine and or vegetal origins
2) Preserving the resources
3) Respecting the ecosystems
4) Managing and controlling our waste
5) Taking into account the feedback of our clients, therapists & end-users
6) Carefully choosing suppliers which are sharing our values and commitment

Apart from the initiative of Thalgo to raise funds for an organization, the company has undertaken more internal actions like waste management by:

• Optimizing the industrial process
• Rationalizing the production flows
• Organizing the sorting of waste

Benefits:
• 30% less waste whereas the bulk production has increased about 17%
• 15% to 25% of our waste is reusable
• 82% of cost reduction

Quantities recycled:
• 62 tons of carton
• 2 tons of paper
• 3.6 tons of plastic bottles
• 4.5 tons of metal bottles

Another practice already in place is the Product eco-Conception.

This practice can be broken down into the following approaches:
1) The product approach
2) The spot or site approach

Indeed, eco-Conception includes the following: raw material and energies, production, distribution, product use and the recycling of the products used.

General benefits:
• Decrease in CO2 emissions (carbon dioxide)
• Decrease in logistics costs
• Decrease in waste destruction and disposal costs
• Decrease in overall energy consumption

Specific benefits:
• Decrease the packaging mass and volume
• Improve the recycling process of packaging materials
• Decrease in taxes and fees
• Selection of material with reasonable impact on the environment