The Body Shop is discontinuing all of its face wipes
- Posted by
- Lucy Partington
- Published
It’s the second retailer to ban wipes this month – and we’re sure it won’t be the last.
A few weeks ago, Holland & Barrett became the first UK retailer to ban the sale of all wet wipes in each of its 800 stores.
The government has also announced a ban on plastic-stemmed cotton buds due to come into force next April, and now The Body Shop is following suit by pledging to discontinue its Tea Tree wipes by the end of 2019.
Wipes will start disappearing from stores as early as October this year and in early 2020 it will get rid of Vitamin E face wipes, too.
Almost 10 million wipes are flushed away every single day. Unlike toilet paper, they don’t disintegrate so end up blocking or clogging both sewers and water pipes. In turn, that contributes to ocean pollution and can cause damage to the marine environment.
In a statement, The Body Shop said, “This was a commercial decision that aligns with our commitment to reduce the impact we have on the environment. We are looking at a broader focus to take a responsible and circular approach with all materials.”
The ban comes not long after the launch of The Body Shop’s Community Trade recycled plastic in partnership with Plastics For Change.
The initiative sees plastic being sourced from waste pickers in India and offers them a fair price, better working conditions and the respect and recognition they deserve for the incredible work they do in preventing plastic going into rivers and oceans.
Forever a brand to lead by example, it has also just launched in-store recycling in partnership with Terracycle, which aims to make recycling empty packaging easier than ever before.
So now you can return your empty bottles, jars, tubs, tubes – from any brand – in store which ensures they’re being properly recycled.
If recycling isn’t possible then Terracycle repurpose the packaging to create new products, like benches or watering cans.
Bravo, The Body Shop. We applaud you.
Main image: The Body Shop