Plastic pollution is one of the major issues facing the beauty industry. The Body Shop wanted to know how sensitive its consumers were to this cause. The brand therefore surveyed a panel of Americans.
The Body Shop conducted this survey of 2,400 Americans in October 2021.
Key findings
The study reveals that the most discarded beauty products per month are:
• Razors (384,899,983 units)
• Shampoo bottles (369,092,688)
• Deodorant bottles (367,032,066)
“To put some of these statistics into perspective, we’ve drawn some comparisons,” says The Body Shop. “The amount of empty shower gel bottles thrown away in a month is equivalent to the number of cars in the United States. There are three times as many razors as there are houses in the United States. Finally, there are almost 6,000 times more deodorants than there are coffee shops and snack bars in the country.”
American behavior
More than half of the panel said they are more likely to buy from companies that use sustainable materials.
50% of respondents are decreasing their use of cosmetic products with plastic packaging. Finally, 43% of them buy their skincare products only from companies that generate no (or little) waste.
“As a country, we must continue to work together to reduce the amount of plastic we use and think about recycling as much as possible,” explains the brand. “Our packs are made from recycled plastics and plant-based materials …
