Lush is the first global cosmetics company to switch to Prevented Ocean Plastic, introducing certified, recycled Prevented Ocean Plastic in the UK and at Lush's production sites in Düsseldorf and Croatia. Since the changeover, more than three million plastic bottles have already been collected on the Indonesian coast and recycled into Lush bottles.
British cosmetics company Lush has been using 100 per cent recycled PET for its clear bottles for over a decade and is now taking an important next step. In the UK, Lush has certified, recycled Prevented Ocean Plastic for its 100 ml, 250 ml and 500 ml bottles.
The Lush production sites in Germany and Croatia have also introduced Prevented Ocean Plastic for these sizes, and Lush North America and Japan will follow later this year, each in cooperation with their local bottle manufacturers. The 1-litre bottles made from Prevented Ocean Plastic are still in the transition phase in all markets, but will be introduced in the course of this year.
The plastic used to make the new transparent Lush bottles was collected within 50 kilometres of a seashore or major waterway in Indonesia and, if not collected and recycled, could end up in the oceans and pollute them. Indonesia is categorised as an endangered area, because the country lacks infrastructure for waste management and recycling. The combination of tourism, a growing population and a lack of incentives for waste collection poses a significant risk to wildlife and their ecosystems from plastic pollution.
The plastic is collected on site by the local population and taken to the collection centres before being sent via the recyclers to the packaging manufacturers, who pass the material on to Lush and other retailers for branding and use.
„Seeing how much impact the Prevented Ocean Plastic programme has on communities in areas at high risk of plastic pollution, being a part of preventing tonnes of plastic from entering the oceans and improving supply chain transparency fulfils our goal of ‚Leaving the world better than we found it'.
Karolina Michalska, Creative Buyer at Lush
SourceLush : Lush
