The Refill Revolution - The Body Shop celebrates World Environment Month and Refill Day

Since 1993, The Body Shop has pioneered refillable beauty. The brand continues to encourage everyone to embrace the circular economy and help eliminate waste. With convenient and accessible refill stations at 23 stores nationwide, The Body Shop is making it easy for customers to make micro personal actions that contribute to making a big difference, and reusing a refillable bottle is one such small, but significant act.

For a limited period in the month of June, customers receive a free aluminium refill bottle with any refill product purchased. The 300ml aluminium bottles are fitted with a pump and can be customised in store with a variety of stickers. An added saving is that customers receive an extra 50ml of product, added to the 250ml.

Rethinking Plastic

70% of plastic waste is dumped into landfills and in oceans every year. The UN has declared the situation a “Planetary Crisis”. By switching to refill, we could save 20 tonnes of plastic, such is the power of compound action.

Currently, more than 68% of The Body Shop packaging can be recycled. By 2025, all bath, body and haircare products will be fully recyclable. By 2030, the brand aims to reach full packaging circularity, which means that 100% of all packaging materials will be reusable, recyclable or compostable, and 50% of all plastic used will be from recycled sources.

A healthy ecosystem for planet and people

Beyond packaging, another one of The Body Shop’s aims is to make their rinse-off formulas 95% biodegradable by 2030. These formulas are currently 90% biodegradable.

The brand is also reducing the usage of non-renewable fossil-origin ingredients in their products as they transition to 95% natural-origin ingredients. This means that there will be 95% natural ingredients in skincare and body care, 90% in cleansing solutions, and 80% in make-up.

Refilwe Mashego, brand manager for The Body Shop South Africa, says: “The Body Shop is not perfect but we’re passionate about improving the environment, one product and one program at a time. We’re committed to becoming the most sustainable business we can be, and we’re always striving to reduce our impact on the planet. We continue to create changemaking through collective power. With our refill campaign we are driving sustainable change and encouraging others to embrace a healthier planet through a circular economy.”

Find your refill store here .