Today’s consumers have high expectations for brands to tackle sustainability head-on.
In early 2021, a new US beauty and wellness brand named Ace of Air raised the bar for the industry by launching with a fully circular shared packaging model which operates with a Buy the Product and Borrow the Packaging scheme.
Ace of Air is co-founded by former Revlon CMO, Stephanie Stahl; supermodel, Petra Nemcova; and founder of merchant banking firm, Three Ocean Partners, David Knowlton.
It launched with eight vegan and cruelty-free skincare and supplement products, priced between US$35-US$85 (€29-€71, £25-£61), in packaging capable of at least 100 uses made from steel, ceramic and Fairtrade rubber.
When purchasing, consumers pay a non-refundable US$2 (€2, £1) fee to rent packaging on top of the products. They must then return their empty containers no later than six months after their order, so Ace of Air can clean, re-fill and re-use them for future orders, or incur a fee of US$25 (€21, £18).
Products are also shipped in a reusable Boomerang Box – which adds a further US$3 (€2, £2) to the bill – which must be returned in 30 days or they’re charged US$20 (€17, £14).
Ultimately, the company is on a mission to transform the beauty industry’s response to the accelerating environmental crisis and encourage consumers to take responsibility for the full life of packaging.
“In 2017, we began creating an uplifting, inclusive brand designed to have a positive impact on people and our planet,” comments Stahl, Ace of Air CEO and co-founder. “We did this because our planet needs a beauty and wellness brand that fundamentally changes what and how we consume.”
The renting model provides potential inspiration for professional beauty and skincare brands wishing to seriously integrate sustainability. And with major brands such as ESPA recently getting on board with product return and recycle schemes, it seems only a matter of time until these models become standard practice.
Such models allow brands not only to help consumers build awareness of responsible consumption but also helps to distinguish themselves in a saturated market where green-washing is rife.
In future, spa operators could also run similar product return and recycle schemes through their retail boutiques.
Ace of Air’s model shares similarities with The Body Shop’s original pioneering approach to sustainable beauty. Launched in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick, the brand introduced one-off refillable sustainable packaging and ethically sourced ingredients.
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Ultima Collection's managing partner explains why and how it's adding wellness options to exclusively rented villas and properties
Spa people: Stephanie Stahl
The Ace of Air co-founder tackles sustainability head on with a 'buy the product rent the packaging' scheme
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First person: Yasuragi
Spas in Sweden stayed open in the pandemic, but does the nation still have an appetite for wellness? Andrew Gibson investigates at this Japanese concept spa hotel near Stockholm
Interview: Tammy Pahel
The VP of spa at Carillon Miami candidly shares some of the challenges of the past year with Lisa Starr and explains why she's investing in touchless innovations
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Today’s consumers have high expectations for brands to tackle sustainability head-on.
In early 2021, a new US beauty and wellness brand named Ace of Air raised the bar for the industry by launching with a fully circular shared packaging model which operates with a Buy the Product and Borrow the Packaging scheme.
Ace of Air is co-founded by former Revlon CMO, Stephanie Stahl; supermodel, Petra Nemcova; and founder of merchant banking firm, Three Ocean Partners, David Knowlton.
It launched with eight vegan and cruelty-free skincare and supplement products, priced between US$35-US$85 (€29-€71, £25-£61), in packaging capable of at least 100 uses made from steel, ceramic and Fairtrade rubber.
When purchasing, consumers pay a non-refundable US$2 (€2, £1) fee to rent packaging on top of the products. They must then return their empty containers no later than six months after their order, so Ace of Air can clean, re-fill and re-use them for future orders, or incur a fee of US$25 (€21, £18).
Products are also shipped in a reusable Boomerang Box – which adds a further US$3 (€2, £2) to the bill – which must be returned in 30 days or they’re charged US$20 (€17, £14).
Ultimately, the company is on a mission to transform the beauty industry’s response to the accelerating environmental crisis and encourage consumers to take responsibility for the full life of packaging.
“In 2017, we began creating an uplifting, inclusive brand designed to have a positive impact on people and our planet,” comments Stahl, Ace of Air CEO and co-founder. “We did this because our planet needs a beauty and wellness brand that fundamentally changes what and how we consume.”
The renting model provides potential inspiration for professional beauty and skincare brands wishing to seriously integrate sustainability. And with major brands such as ESPA recently getting on board with product return and recycle schemes, it seems only a matter of time until these models become standard practice.
Such models allow brands not only to help consumers build awareness of responsible consumption but also helps to distinguish themselves in a saturated market where green-washing is rife.
In future, spa operators could also run similar product return and recycle schemes through their retail boutiques.
Ace of Air’s model shares similarities with The Body Shop’s original pioneering approach to sustainable beauty. Launched in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick, the brand introduced one-off refillable sustainable packaging and ethically sourced ingredients.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa people: Adrian Zecha
Adrian Zecha talks about his latest brands and why he's not planning retirement anytime soon
Spa people: Michala Chatel
Ultima Collection's managing partner explains why and how it's adding wellness options to exclusively rented villas and properties
Spa people: Stephanie Stahl
The Ace of Air co-founder tackles sustainability head on with a 'buy the product rent the packaging' scheme
Menu engineering: At your service
Art and sauna bathing collide in a Japanese exhibition; Banyan Tree rolls out its Wellbeing Sanctuary concept globally
Top team: Capella
Neena Dhillon talks to the owning company and senior executives from this burgeoning Asian hospitality brand with a passion for wellness
Ask an Expert: Treating Long COVID
One in 20 people who've had coronavirus are still battling its side effects for three months or more. How can spas help?
Promotion: Art of Cryo: Cool night's sleep
High-performance cryo chamber specialist Art of Cryo joins forces with leading bed manufacturer Samina to launch cryo centres for sleep health
Interview: Stelian Iacob
Therme Group's COO tells Katie Barnes how it's making the traditional thermal facility model more relevant to today's consumers
First person: Yasuragi
Spas in Sweden stayed open in the pandemic, but does the nation still have an appetite for wellness? Andrew Gibson investigates at this Japanese concept spa hotel near Stockholm
Interview: Tammy Pahel
The VP of spa at Carillon Miami candidly shares some of the challenges of the past year with Lisa Starr and explains why she's investing in touchless innovations
Spa survey: Wellness time
A new consumer survey shows how people's attitudes towards wellness and spas have changed. Mindbody's Katherine Wernet
Focus on: IV nutrition therapy
Is IV nutrition therapy as credible as some spas claim? Lisa Starr investigates this increasingly popular treatment
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
In a world where imbalance often accumulates quietly, Wildsmith unveils its newest
wellbeing innovation: Silent Loads, an approach designed to meet the needs of modern spa
guests with precision and depth. [more...]
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