Dive Brief:
- Long associated with a commitment to environmental issues, The Body Shop on Monday announced it expanded its refill program in February to include select makeup products.
- The Body Shop has added the Peptalk Lipstick to an existing group of refillable products, which includes hair care, shower gels and hand soaps, according to a company press release.
- The Peptalk Lipstick, in 20 shades, comes in a refillable case made from 100% recycled aluminum.
Dive Insight:
The Body Shop’s founder, Anita Roddick, was offering a refilling idea as far back as 1976 when she launched the first Body Shop in England. An in-store refill and recycling program came about in 1993, and was brought back in 2019 by its current owner, Brazilian beauty company Natura.
The Body Shop’s refill stations are now available in 800 of its stores around the world and half of its U.S. locations. Eligible products come in refillable bottles made of 100% aluminum, as part of an ongoing effort to keep containers from ending up in landfills and the ocean.
As a Certified B Corp, The Body Shop’s ethos centers around sustainability. In 2021, the company announced a five-year program in 2021 to have refill stations in the majority of its stores and set a target of saving 25 tons of plastic per year through the program.
The Body Shop’s refill program in its first year in the U.S. diverted 576 pounds of plastic, the equivalent of 12,749 bottles, from being wasted, according to the company release.
"We want our customers to understand first and foremost that they can be changemakers — and that even small individual acts, like refilling your shampoo or shower gel in a reusable container, can have a big impact on our planet," Hilary Lloyd, vice president of marketing and corporate social responsibility for The Body Shop North America, said in a statement. “The climate crisis is the greatest risk facing our future, which is why we call on beauty lovers everywhere to use their purchasing power to embrace a circular economy."
Through its Community Fair Trade partner, Plastics for Change, The Body Shop works with waste pickers in India to remove plastics from the streets. To date, Plastics for Change claims to have collected over 4.4 million pounds of plastic waste.
As consumers are increasingly calling for sustainable products, brands like The Body Shop are reacting to those demands. Just recently, Hydro Flask launched a trade-in-program for the brand’s used insulated water bottles, tumblers and stainless steel products in exchange for redeemable store credit.
