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
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
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
