Lamazuna

Lamazuna is a French cosmetics company founded in 2010 [1], known for solid, zero-waste bathroom products such as shampoo bars, solid toothpaste and reusable accessories. Based in the Drôme region of south-east France, it makes its goods in France from ingredients it describes as natural and organic, and sells them directly online alongside a network of physical stockists.

The company grew from a single reusable product into a range of more than fifty items spanning haircare, skincare, bodycare and dental care. It remains active, with an operating online store and French-language blog posts dated as recently as January 2024.

Lamazuna began with a small domestic swap. Its founder, Laëtitia Van de Walle, replaced her disposable cotton makeup-removal pads with a reusable alternative in 2010, at the age of 25 [6]. That reusable microfibre wipe became the company's first product [5] and the seed of a wider idea: a bathroom without single-use plastic.

At the time, Van de Walle has said, the plastic-bottle-laden bathroom was simply the norm and few people spoke of a "zero-waste lifestyle." The company positioned itself against that grain, focusing on solid formats and durable objects designed to last.

According to the company, the launch of Lamazuna coincided with the popularisation of the French phrase « cosmétiques solides » (solid cosmetics), a term it says later spread across Europe and entered everyday vocabulary [2]. Over the following years the team combined product development with public outreach, running two touring campaigns across France and hundreds of free events aimed at making zero-waste habits more familiar.

Lamazuna states that it was the first brand in France to be certified PETA Cruelty-Free, and among the first companies to carry the Slow Cosmétique label [2]. The business later relocated to the Drôme, described as France's leading organic-farming territory, where it developed a six-hectare écolieu project incorporating a laboratory, gardens and seminar spaces [6].

Lamazuna frames its products as "écolonomiques" — a coinage joining ecological and economical — arguing that reusable and solid goods reduce both waste and long-term cost. The company describes a set of self-imposed constraints on what it will make: every product should aim for zero waste, be vegan, and be manufactured as locally as possible, with a stated goal of moving progressively toward wholly French production.

Beyond selling goods, the company presents itself as a "laboratory of inspiring ideas" whose mission includes guiding and educating customers toward zero-waste living. It publishes practical advice through its blog and says it tries not to create new needs in the bathroom, occasionally dropping items — such as a konjac sponge sourced from Asia — in favour of alternatives it can make in France.

The range centres on solid and reusable formats. Alongside the original washable makeup-remover wipe, signature products include the Oriculi, a reusable bamboo ear cleaner; solid shampoo and conditioner bars; solid toothpaste; and a menstrual cup. Refillable toothbrushes are sold in several bristle strengths, including a children's line.

On ingredients, the company says its formulas are natural and organic and never derived from petrochemicals, while acknowledging that not every ingredient can be simultaneously French, local and fully organic, so some compromises are made. Certain products carry the COSMOS Organic certification, which the company describes as verifying the natural and organic origin of a product's ingredients [3]. The brand also cites its PETA Cruelty-Free and Slow Cosmétique labels. According to a third-party sustainability profile, the company employs a team of around 47 people and offers an exclusively vegan range [5].

Sustainability is central to how Lamazuna describes itself. Products are sold either loose or in recycled, recyclable cardboard packaging, and the company runs an in-store recycling scheme for a hard-to-recycle item: used toothbrush heads. Customers return spent refills to an "Ecobox" at participating shops, from which the material is sent to a recycling centre to be ground down and remade into new objects. The company reports having collected more than 30,000 used toothbrush heads through the programme [4].

A 2023 assessment by the sustainability directory COSH! noted that Lamazuna's products are sold in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and cautioned that, because of possible re-export to mainland China — where animal testing can be legally mandated — it could not state with complete certainty that no products are ever animal-tested, despite the brand's PETA Cruelty-Free and vegan certifications [5].

Lamazuna is active. Its direct-to-consumer store operates with a current product range and pricing, its recycling programme is ongoing, and French-language blog posts on the site are dated January 2024 [1]. The company says it draws on more than fourteen years of experience in solid cosmetics since its 2010 founding [2].