The German cosmetics giant Beiersdorf is trialling the use of refill stations for it’s Nivea shower gels.

Beiersdorf have partnered with drugstore chain DM to trial refill stations in Hamburg and Karlsruhe, with the focus of reducing the quantity of plastics they put into the market annually.

“The procedure is very simple,” explains Marta Suslow, Packaging Specialist at Beiersdorf. “Consumers take an empty plastic bottle from the station and fill it with the product of their choice – in other words, the Nivea Creme Soft or the Nivea Creme Sensitive shower gel. Payment is made using the printed label. To refill the bottle, the container is brought back to the store by the consumer. The plastic bottles can be refilled up to three times using the special barcode. After the third refill, the customer is then asked to hand in the old bottle at the checkout for hygiene reasons so that it can be recycled. In return, they will receive a new bottle and a first filling for free.”