Cumbria-based organic skincare company Pure Lakes is offering customers the option to refill their existing jars, tins and bottles rather than buying new.
Whilst various skincare companies will take back empty containers or send out plastic refill pouches, the Pure Lakes scheme is thought to be the first of its kind to allow customers to refill their original packaging.
To refill their bottles, customers must clean their empty containers and post or hand deliver them to the company’s workshop in Staveley, near Kendal. Customers will receive a 20 per cent discount off their next purchase, to contribute towards the cost of sending back their empty containers. The service is available across all four of the company’s ranges – Skincare, Men’s, Bath and Body, and Active Therapeutic – with products costing between £6 and £15.
In addition to the company’s unique refill service, Pure Lakes was also one of the first to use bottles made from a sugar polymer.
Pure Lakes Co-owner Gareth McKeever commented: “At Pure Lakes we want to do our small bit. My wife Claire and I have a young family and we feel very privileged to be able to raise them in such a beautiful part of the world. We want to ensure that it remains such for future generations. We hope that by offering a refill service we can make a positive difference.”
Pure Lakes currently supplies several hospitality businesses with in-room amenities and spa products, including Lake District hotels such as Brimstone and The Gilpin.
McKeever explained: “We have many hospitality partners and this initiative is proving popular. We hope to offer guests staying at local hotels in the Lake District the option to have their empties collected at the start of their stay and filled and dropped off before they return home. Our in-room amenities have always been refillable (five-litre jerry cans to fill a 250-millilitre bottle) and this retail refill initiative is very much a next step for us.”
With research from Tap Warehouse revealing that only 50 per cent of bathroom waste is recycled, accounting for 30-40 per cent of total landfill waste, a refill scheme comes as a welcome step forward for the cosmetics and personal care industry.
Read more: Cosmetics: A beautiful waste
Along with Pure Lakes, several cosmetics brands are making progress towards reducing their environmental impact, with companies such as Lush, Origins and Aveda running recycling schemes for empty containers.
You can find more information about the Pure Lakes refill scheme company’s website.
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