‘A big step’: The Body Shop believes reuse and refill habit will ‘definitely’ become mainstream in Singapore

The Natura-owned company has started to introduce its new in-store refill system en masse across 500 stores globally this year and plans to extend it to 300 stores in 2022.

This is the first phase of a five-year plan to expand the refill program across the globe.

In Singapore, the firm will begin its refill services at two stores in the coming months, starting at ION Orchard and Plaza Singapura Activist Workshop stores in July and August respectively.

By this year, the company plans to have five stores offering refills and aims to expand this to 70% of its total retail footprint by the end of 2022.

The move towards refillable options another step towards the B Corp company’s goal of becoming “the world's first regenerative beauty business”.​

One of the biggest hurdles facing the circular beauty movement is helping the consumer form new habits land keeping them up. The firm hopes that rolling out refill services across its far-reaching retail network could help convince consumers.

“Our consumers are looking to businesses to make huge changes while we are facing a planetary crisis, there is no time to waste. They want to make purchase decisions that reduce their impact on the planet, we want to make refilling a mainstream convenient option to aid these decisions, and ultimately eliminate waste,”​ said Annie Chan, senior general manager for The Body Shop APAC Company Markets.

While changing behaviours to adopt refillable systems is not an easy thing to ask, the company believes today's consumers are open to changing long-standing habits for the sake of the planet.

“There is definitely potential for the reuse and refill concept to become mainstream in Singapore. With more companies from various industries doing their part to advocate sustainable lifestyle habits, we want to inspire and empower everyone to rethink the way they consume products and drive a positive change in consumer behaviour and mindsets,” ​said Chan.

She added: “It is a big step, but we hope that it will eventually become a lifestyle choice for Singaporeans.”​

In addition to the new in-store refill system, the company is also working to improve the sustainability of its packaging.

“While we move towards our long-term goals for creating zero-waste packaging, it’s constantly making sure more and more of our packaging is made from plant-based and recycled materials, sourced in a way that drives positive social change,” ​said Chan.

The company had also taken significant steps towards increasing sustainability in its store designs of their Activist Maker Workshop store concept by fitting them with green materials like reclaimed wood and recycled plastics to help minimise its environmental impact.

This follows The Body Shop’s announcement​ that it is aiming to have 100% of its product formulations certified by The Vegan Society by 2023.

Currently, 60% of The Body Shop products are vegan, and over the course of 2021, the new vegan Body Butters will be rolled out locally with the Vegan Trademark in The Body Shop Singapore stores.