Reposit, refillable packaging platform, and Marks & Spencer have expanded their recycling collaboration, providing clear evidence for how the beauty industry can tackle its plastic problem

Plastic packaging is one of the biggest hurdles for businesses trying to improve their impact upon the environment. In the personal care industry alone, more than 120 billion units of packaging is produced globally each year – and most of this is non-recyclable. 

Despite this, there is clear evidence to show that beauty consumers are willing to adapt to a refill system, with the Courage to Change report citing that ‘59% of people say they would be willing to refill their beauty and grooming products’. 

That’s why, the expansion of Reposit in M&S stores is an inspiring case for beauty brands interested in cutting their packaging output. 

Created by Stuart and Jo Chidley – co-chair of the Sustainable Beauty Coalition – Reposit’s circular system is already being used by brands including Elemis, Lush and Weleda. It incentivises customers to return their standardised packaging to refill in store, or be recycled. 

On a larger scale, Marks & Spencer will develop its popular ‘Refilled’ recycling programme with its own brand of laundry and cleaning products, rolling out to a further 19 stores across the UK.

The ‘Refilled’ range with Reposit involves customers paying an extra initial £2 for a returnable bottle. Once the empty bottle is returned, customers receive a £2 voucher which can then be redeemed on another ‘Refilled’ product. And so the scheme creates a continuous cycle of packaging, reducing waste and its negative impact on the planet.  

Since its launch last year, the Reposit Recycling scheme has shown success, with over 10,000 M&S customers using it to date. It is part of Marks & Spencer’s wider commitment to removing 1bn units of plastic packaging by 2027. The expansion into more UK stores is estimated to remove a further 150,000 pieces of plastic. 

On the expansion, Stuart Chidley, Reposit Co-Founder, said: ‘Reposit is delighted to have worked closely with M&S to build a scalable standardised returnable packaging solution that works for business and customers. 

‘This scale up is the result of strong customer engagement which we hope will result in more action across the retail industry to offer customers a convenient alternative to single-use packaging.’

Although Reposit is already having a big impact in the beauty industry via collaborations with smaller brands, the team has also recently signed on with Amazon and other larger corporations. These are set to lay the groundwork for how beauty brands can harness the system to tackle its waste issue. 

You can find out more about Reposit here.