Morocco had long served as inspiration for Yves Saint Laurent’s eponymous founder—so much so that there’s an entire museum in Marrakech dedicated to his work—and nearly a decade ago, YSL Beauty decided to give back to the ecosystem of the country that had been its muse and ingredient source.

Thus began the luxury beauty brand’s efforts to “protect and restore biodiversity,” Caroline Negre, YSL Beauty’s international sustainability and scientific director, told Retail Brew. It started with the Ourika Community Gardens in Morocco, created to sustainably produce ingredients used in its cosmetics. In 2017, the brand officially debuted its Rewild Our Earth initiative in Morocco, which focused on ecosystem restoration before partnering with global NGO Re:wild in 2022. It’s since expanded the initiative to Haiti, Madagascar, Indonesia, and Canada with the goal of restoring 100,000 hectares of wilderness by 2030.

Now, the brand is on track to be halfway to that goal by year’s end, according to Negre, and two new partnerships it announced last week in the Bahamas and Colombia should help push it even further.

Negre spoke to Retail Brew about how the program has evolved and the future of the brand’s sustainability efforts.

Keep reading here.—EC

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Another company is jumping on the retail media bandwagon.

Earlier this month, Chase announced the creation of a new business within the company called Chase Media Solutions, which will help advertisers target Chase customers based on their shopping habits.

Chase has been in the business of retail media for at least five years, since it introduced Chase Offers in 2018, a program that lets advertisers offer cashback and discounts to Chase customers, in-app or online. But Chase Offers had previously been handled entirely by a third party.

Keep reading here.—RB

It’s Earth Day today, and brands are holding promotions this week for environmentally friendly products such as reusable bags, footwear made from sustainable materials, and hydroponically grown lettuce. Companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. and REI are also touting their efforts to get customers to reduce, reuse, and recycle products.

Here’s what else is going on in retail:

In earnings: Several retail and retail-adjacent companies will release Q1 earnings this week. On Monday, Albertsons will be one of the first major supermarket chains to report this season. Visa will report on Tuesday, and is likely to provide some high-level insights on consumer spending behavior; representing CPGs that same day is PepsiCo. UPS, Chipotle, and Tractor Supply Company are also on deck this week, to name just a few.

Keep reading here.—AV

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