The Perfume Shop has updated its recycling units to ‘sturdier’ units, following a 67% year-on-year increase in recycling levels.
The UK’s largest fragrance retailer introduced its perfume bottle recycling and reuse initiative in 2018. It updated its units last year across its 209 nationwide stores, an update which has now been completed.
The units are now all wooden models that are “sturdier” and have another section included for customers to place their used fragrance bottles in.
In 2023, over 8,611 bottles had been recycled compared to 5,152 in 2022, through the initiative, with a 67% year-to-date increase across its 209 nationwide stores, The Perfume Shop said.
In 2024, 3,908 bottles have been recycled so far.
For every bottle recycled, The Perfume Shop, which last year launched the UK’s first multi-brand fragrance refill station in its Nottingham store, makes a donation to Veritree, the tree planting specialist, to plant a tree, as it looks to boost its eco credentials.
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Since working with Veritree 34,908 trees have been planted through the initiative.
Adding that number to the previous tree planting partners, from April 2021 The Perfume Shop have planted over 400,000 trees.
The Perfume Shop managing director Gill Smith said: ‘We’re very pleased to see the continued efforts from our team on this bottle recycling initiative with new and improved units across all stores nationwide.
“When we first launched this scheme, it was the first of its kind for perfume bottles which we hadn’t seen before. We knew we wanted our loyal customers to both smell good but also feel good when they were aware what they could do with their empty fragrance bottles.
“This is exactly why we are continuing to build upon this year on year to make our cause even greater than before.”
Earlier this year, the high street retailer said it was planning to reduce its packaging by as much as 40% by automating its packaging machines as part of a £2.5m investment.