Major beauty brands sign up to circular economy initiative

Beauty brands including Elemis, Unilever and NAF! Salon have signed up to a circular economy initiative, launched by Jo Chidley, co-founder of natural and sustainable personal care brand Beauty Kitchen.

The circular economy model, named Re, will aim to prevent more than 100 million bottles from going to landfill in three years.

The initiative will invite customers to return empty packaging with the ‘Re’ logo to be washed and put back into the supply chain to be reused, allowing brands across multiple sectors and consumers to work towards eliminating single-use plastic packaging of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost.

The initiative plans to use Smart Bottles, marked with unique trackable assets and made of steel, glass and next-generation washable plastics, alongside supply chain tracking and analytics, in order to increase awareness of consumer behaviour and its impacts.

Refill stations will also be built through the initiative, allowing consumers to fill Smart Bottles with a product of their choosing or buy pre-filled products in reusable packaging. They will then be able to return Smart Bottles for washing at interactive return points.

“Actions speak louder than words. It’s time to make the circular economy happen now. We are launching Re to kickstart a nationwide push towards a circular economy,” comments Jo Chidley.

“We have demonstrated that not only do consumers want incredibly effective products, but also products that can help minimise waste to be part of a more sustainable society. We are here to help them on that journey by making the sustainable and circular choice safe and completely accessible, fair and affordable for everyone.

“We want every business in the country to join this initiative. This launch should be seen as an open-ended invite to join us, to both consumers and businesses. Collaboration is key to us paving the way for a sustainable future,” she adds.