Go Green with The Body Shop: Refill Stations, Recycling Scheme, Commitment to be 100% Vegan

The Body Shop has announced today that by the end of 2023 its entire product range will be certified by The Vegan Society and carry its Vegan Trademark. The Body  Shop was also the first cosmetics company to campaign against animal testing in cosmetics in 1989,  with a fundamental belief that animals should not be harmed in the pursuit of beauty. The fight continues for a worldwide ban on animal testing in cosmetics.

Together, each of our small acts can make a big difference. You see, the beauty industry is in urgent need of a makeover. Every year, the beauty industry generates billions of pieces of packaging, most of which is plastic that ends up in landfills or in our oceans. And while more and more of us are trying hard to reduce our impact on the planet, we can’t do it without brave, transformative acts from the businesses we love. That’s where The Body Shop comes in.

The Body Shop Rolls Out Refill Stations

The Body Shop’s founder, Anita Roddick was one of the pioneers when it came to refills and recycling in cosmetics too. In 1976, when The Body Shop first started, she offered to refill customers' bottles and in 1993, the company introduced a ‘Bring Back Our Bottle’ (BBOB) recycling scheme.

The Body Shop wants refills to become mainstream. So the brand has rolled out refill stations across 500 stores globally and a further 300 stores in 2022. This is to help more people to opt out of packaging, eliminating waste before products reach the bathroom shelf. Refills are easy, convenient and accessible to everyone!

Anita says, “Why waste a container when you can refill it? And why buy more of something than you can use?”

Locally, The Body Shop Singapore will be starting the roll-out of refills at ION Orchard from 9 Jul 2021 and Plaza Singapura from 4 Aug 2021 with plans for expansion in future. The Return, Recycle, Repeat scheme is also available in all 36 stores island-wide.

The Impact of Joining The Body Shop's Refill Revolution

Just pick up your refillable aluminium bottle and choose The Body Shop’s best-loved shower gels, shampoos, conditioners and hand washes. Once you’ve finished, give it a rinse, bring it back and refill it. It really is that simple!

By making the simple switch to refill, together we could save over 25 tonnes of plastic every year. Every individual plays a crucial role in driving this change because every bottle counts. By switching to refill you could prevent up to 32 plastic bottles from going to waste each year and help prevent up to 2200g of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. And it’s not just better for the planet, it’s better for your wallet too. By switching to refills, you could save around S$58 every year.

Return and Recycle The Body Shop Empty Packaging

Next time you visit The Body Shop in-store, return any empty plastic bottles, tubs, tubes and pots. Speak to a member of staff first, so they can fill you in on the recycling scheme, what you can recycle and where to return your empties

With a member of staff, put your clean, empty packaging into the recycling bin. Once the bin is full, their recycling partners, Sembcorp®, collect it so they can recycle or repurpose it into new items like park benches and playgrounds.

The staff will issue you a stamp on your Perkd app for every plastic bottle returned*. Collect 5 stamps and receive a reward! It's a little thank you for helping The Body Shop recycle for the planet.

*Applicable to 50ml or bigger packaging from The Body Shop. Stamps will only be issued for bottles that are clean, empty, and dry. Rewards are only valid for Love Your Body club members.

The Body Shop Announces Commitment to be 100% Vegan Certified by 2023

Currently, 60% of The Body Shop products are vegan. This includes best-selling ranges such as the Tea Tree skincare range, its Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask, vegan haircare range, Body Yogurts and now the iconic Body Butters. Over the course of 2021, the new vegan Body Butters will be rolled out locally with the Vegan Trademark across The Body Shop Singapore stores and via their online official stores on Lazada and Shopee in the third quarter.

The Vegan Society represents the global gold standard in vegan certification. With a globally recognised trademark across multiple industries, it provides a trusted stamp for The Body Shop products across the world. The Vegan Society takes an extremely thorough approach to certification and contact is made with every supplier and manufacturer of raw materials within the product catalogue. For The Body Shop,  that’s over 3,700 raw materials. Once each raw material has been meticulously investigated, each product is reviewed in totality to make sure it is fully compliant. Only then does a product receive Vegan Trademark certification.