If there’s one thing we know about you, our beloved GLAMOUR readers, it’s that you care deeply about protecting the planet. We also know you’re a bunch of passionate beauty obsessives, so it’s no wonder 86% of Gen-Z shoppers (and 80% of millennials) are more likely to buy sustainable beauty products, according to recent data from APackaging Group. But even though all beauty brands should be taking steps to be less wasteful and more circular in 2023, sadly, not all of them are. So when we hear about a brilliant, hard-working product that also earns its eco points, we know it’s our duty to tell you about it.
One such product that landed on our desks recently that we’re really impressed with is the Infinite Bottle from Molton Brown, which aims for 50% of its products to be reusable or refillable by 2023. The Infinite Bottle is the brand’s first packaging made from 100% recycled aluminium, available across its bath and shower gel category (our favourite is Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel, which, thanks to cypress, cardamon and jasmine, smells like sunny beach holidays in a bottle). When you run out, simply purchase one of the Bath & Shower Gel Refill pouches for your Infinite Bottle and reduce your plastic footprint by 63% (compared to using the brand’s standard bottles).
The sleek, timeless design of the bottle will also add an elegant touch to your bathroom no matter your interiors vibe, making it the perfect combo of luxury and circularity. An upgrade to our well-deserved self-care sessions with a chic, eco-conscious product? We’re sold.
But what exactly makes aluminium the most sustainable choice? We asked Beatrice Descorps, Molton Brown’s global vice-president of marketing, to break it down for us: “As a material, aluminium is infinitely recyclable,” explains Beatrice, “but it’s only truly sustainable if it has a high recycled material content – at least 75%. This is because, while sustainable, it is CO2 and energy-intensive to produce. That’s why we created our aluminium bottle with 100% recycled materials so that it allows an 83% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 95% energy saving versus virgin aluminium.”
So far, so good. But in this age of greenwashing and superficial eco promises, we also like to promote brands that have long held ethical and environmental effects front of mind in everything they do. Sustainability and cruelty-free have been an integral part of the Molton Brown identity since the brand’s inception in 1971. They were one of the first brands to never test on animals – “a fairly radical concept in the 1970s,” adds Beatrice – are cruelty-free and Leaping Bunny-approved, with their manufacturing facility in Elsenham completely powered by renewable energy. Plus, 97% of the brand’s waste is recycled, with an aim to reach zero landfill waste by 2025.
“The Refill Collection sits alongside improvements we are making across our whole portfolio to ensure we are responsibly offering our customers more sustainable options, such as reducing our use of virgin plastic via our plastic bottles – most of which are made from at least 50% recycled materials – and our ‘Return. Recycle. Reward.’ scheme, which incentivises customers to return their used bottles to store so that they can be recycled,” says Beatrice.
We applaud brands who have been taking impactful sustainability steps long before it became such a buzzword in beauty and pledge to do more in the future. Kudos to Molton Brown for continuing to elevate our showers to a spa-like – and more sustainable – experience.
