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Irene Forte, Wellness Director at Rocco Forte Hotels, Founder & CEO of Irene Forte Skincare
Being part of the legacy that is the Rocco Forte Hotel group, directing their wellness division, and then later creating her namesake handmade, and sustainable skincare brand, Irene Forte, created a new conversation on wellness and unity between the spas belonging to the group.
She launched Rocco Forte Spas in 2014, complete with new principles, nutrition and fitness plans and Forte Organics; the bio-cosmetic line of beauty products which included a day cream and face mask. It was that very line that led to the inception of Irene Forte Skincare.
Sustainability was always at the forefront of Forte’s mind. She mostly uses glass and papers made from 100% recyclable fibres for packaging.
For Forte, 2020 was all about learning to adapt and develop ideas and concepts that she could launch in 2021. “It gave us time to reassess how we did business. It gave us the opportunity to focus on our direct-to-consumer channels. It also gave us the time to develop very well thought out packaging, to work on new product developments and work on how we could be more sustainable. We also launched a 70% alcohol hand sanitiser, enriched with organic Aloe Leaf Juice and a blend of pure essential oils, including Lemon, Sage and Thyme.”
“In terms of notable changes, we are launching new refillable packaging; this includes recycled glass jars and bottles with biobased plastic refillable parts (that can be recycled through a recycling programme), coupled with boxes made out of 100% recycled fibres. We are also working with an Italian artist from Veneto who is painting the liners of our boxes, and with a supplier from Puglia who is creating sustainable olive wood spatulas for us. Indeed, we're continuing to work with local artisans and suppliers; we are launching a Mount Etna volcanic stone face roller and we recently launched our sustainable Sicilian coffa bags as 'gift packaging' that are hand-plaited with Sicilian palma nana and decorated with recycled materials. We are launching some fantastic new products, and we are also working on an exciting initiative around International Women's Day.”
“In 2021, #IPLEDGE to give back more and become even more sustainable (given that sustainability is a journey).”