Cosmetics retailer Lush is starting to sell products in the UK in packaging made from ‘Prevented Ocean Plastic’ – and it will be introducing this material globally in due course.
The plastic to make the new Lush clear bottles has been collected within 50km of an ocean coastline or major waterway in Indonesia – and the retailer said it would otherwise be at risk of entering and polluting oceans if it were not collected and recycled. The plastic is collected, taken to local hubs before going through recycling, and onwards to packaging manufacturers for material distribution to Lush and other companies.
In the UK, through working with its supplier, Spectra Packaging, Lush has introduced certified recycled Prevented Ocean Plastic for its 100ml, 250ml and 500ml bottles. The Lush manufacturing sites in Germany and Croatia have also rolled out Prevented Ocean Plastic across these sizes, while Lush North America and Japan will follow suit later in 2024.
Each of the Lush sites will be working with their local bottle manufacturers to bring this material into use. The 1L bottles are still in transition across all markets, but will be introduced later this year, according to Lush.
Indonesia has been identified as an at-risk area because of the country’s lack of waste management and recycling infrastructure, hence why efforts are focused on retrieving plastic from this part of the world. Environmentalists acknowledge the combination of tourism, a growing population, and the lack of collective incentives create a significant risk of plastic contamination to the wildlife and ecosystems in Indonesia.
Lush estimated it has diverted over three million bottles of plastic through UK supply of Prevented Ocean Plastic. This sum was calculated using an average weight of 20g per bottle collected in Indonesia, with the weighing activity conducted in July 2023 within the Prevented Ocean Plastic South East Asia supply chain, inclusive of clear/light and light blue material grades, without caps and labels.
Karolina Michalska, ethical packaging buying at Lush, said: “Seeing how much impact the Prevented Ocean Plastic programme has had on the communities in areas at high risk of plastic pollution, being part of preventing tonnes of plastic from entering the oceans as well as improving transparency of the supply chain is very much fulfilling our ‘Lusher than we found it’ statement.
“I feel honoured to have worked with such a passionate and inspirational group of people who care about people and the environment.”
Commenting on the initiative, Jonathan Powell, sales director at Spectra Packaging, added: “It holds a special place in our hearts because it provides a proactive solution to combating ocean plastic pollution and generates tangible socio-economic benefits for those in at-risk regions who bear the brunt of its impact.”
Lush has been using 100% recycled PET for its clear bottles for more than a decade, and the retailer also runs an in-store recycling scheme for its black pots.
Read more about Lush’s work on Green Retail World
[Image credit: Lush]
