The British Beauty Council’s Sustainable Beauty Coalition has announced a new initiative to tackle industry waste.
Launching during Waste Week this month, ‘The Great British Beauty Clean Up’ is a first of its kind collaboration between retailers and brands which aims to significantly reduce the amount of waste created by the beauty industry.
The campaign is set to focus on increasing industry and consumer awareness to encourage the adoption of reuse and refill systems.
It is also set to increase recycling rates of beauty empties through spotlighting take-back schemes and household recycling where available.
To date, 21 beauty brands and retailers have expressed interest in joining the initiative. All businesses involved will activate under ‘The Great British Beauty Clean Up’ campaign imagery and call to action, making it a key touchpoint for consumers from launch.
Millie Kendal OBE, CEO of the British Beauty Council, said: “The beauty industry provides so much joy, self confidence and is a source of expression for so many people but this should not come at the cost of the planet.
“The Sustainable Beauty Coalition has long spearheaded moves by the industry to reduce our industry’s impact on the planet and its new campaign is designed to reduce the amount of beauty empties that end up in landfill.
“So far, the campaign has had a great reception from leading brands and retailers who are interested in weighing in on the campaign and we are excited to see the first cross-industry clean up campaign come to fruition this year.
“Any business can get involved, whether that’s highlighting their takeback scheme on our map, educating shoppers or supporting the movement on social media. Join the campaign today – together, we can make a difference.”
The Great British Beauty Clean Up was launched during Waste Week (3–9 March), with the Sustainable Beauty Coalition urging all beauty brands and businesses operating in the UK to get involved.
The announcement follows information from The Courage to Change Report which highlights that the beauty industry produces over 120 billion units of packaging globally, with much of it going to landfill. Furthermore, 56% of people do not recycle their bathroom products, with approximately 70% of the industry’s plastic waste not being recycled.
