LIVING OUR VALUES
Values repOrt 2009
100% RECYCLED PET
for a number of years the body shop has purchased pet1 bottles that contain 30% post Consumer recyclate
(pCr). pCr is a term used for any plastic that has already been used by a consumer, that is then recycled into a
usable material again. in early 2008 we took this project further and have now begun introducing 100% recycled
plastic bottles, becoming the first global Cosmetics and toiletries brand to achieve this level of recycled material
in our plastic bottles. We are in the process of rolling out this 100% recycled pet bottle to as many ranges as
possible. this is not always feasible for every range due to availability and because the colour of the bottles is
slightly impaired, sometimes with a hint of blue or green. for those ranges that this is an issue and where there is
availability we will use 60% pet bottle, which is also new to our packaging range.
We have also launched glass packaging made from pCr. this can be found at levels of around 30% in our 30ml
eau de toilette bottles, such as White musk® and also in our 10ml home fragrance oil bottles.
despite making great strides in this area we still missed our target for 65% of our packaging assortment to contain recycled
content by 2008. this was mainly due to delayed launches of certain ranges where pCr was planned for inclusion. these
launches will happen in 2009 and we expect the percentage level to increase accordingly.
gIfT PACkAgINg
We have spent considerable energy in reducing the environmental impact of our popular gift range. We have done this by
increasing recycled content of the packaging and by sourcing forest stewardship Council (fsC) certified paper and board.
increased the volume of fsC certified tags and folding cartons to 17%.
increased the volume of pCr in our paperboard packaging to 64%.
100% of swing tags converted to fsC certified material.
100% of folding cartons converted to fsC certified material.
78% of our pet packaging is now made with pCr.
81% of our paper and plastic packaging is derived from either pCr or certified sustainable materials.
100% RECYCLED PAPER BAg
in 2008 we decided to replace all of our in-store plastic bags with paper bags. the new paper
carrier bag is produced from 100% recycled paper which means that it does not directly
contribute to deforestation. it is also 100% recyclable and 100% biodegradable. it has 80% pCr
content with the remaining 20% coming from pir content (post-industrial recyclate). the bags
are printed using water-based inks which means that they do not contain harmful solvents.
Whilst the bag is strong enough to be re-used several times before recycling, the best option
is still for our customers not to use a disposable bag at all. so although our new recycled paper bags are a positive step in
reducing our environmental impact, we will continue to ask customers if they would like a bag at every transaction and to
promote the body shop® “bag for life” which lasts longer. this is part of our strategy to reduce the overall number of disposable
bags that we need to produce as a company. Our paper bags were phased in around the world throughout 2008. by the end of
2009 we expect all our old plastic bags to have been sold through in all of our markets.
INDEPENDENT COmmENTARY fROm ALAN kNIgHT
“i know they have worked hard on the impact of their gift packaging. however, their store posters make a virtue that
packaging does not add to the beauty of a product, but they use rather a lot in some gifts. i’d encourage them to keep
their focus on this area.”
1
pet is a type of plastic we use for the majority of our plastic bottles – it stands for polyethylene terephthalate.
2
defra, the department for environment, food & rural affairs, uk.
38