Holland & Barrett bans single-use sheet masks to discourage throwaway culture

08 Sep 2021 --- Holland & Barrett is banning single-use beauty sheet masks across UK stores and online to reduce single-use waste. The company seeks to encourage customers to switch to more sustainable alternatives.

“Beauty sheet masks can only be used once, so following a review, we feel they no longer fit our clean and conscious beauty ethos, which is why we’ve decided to act now and stop selling them,” says Joanne Cooke, beauty trading director at Holland & Barrett.

“We know our customers are eco-conscious and passionate about protecting the environment, and we hope this move makes it a little bit easier for them to make their beauty regimes more sustainable. We’re encouraging them to join our #notanothersheetmask movement and pledge to switch to more sustainable options.”

A well-timed move
The ban comes when people worldwide are increasing their sheet mask purchases, and their popularity is continuing to grow, according to Holland & Barrett. 

It is predicted that single-use sheet mask spending will have a yearly total of US$504 million (£369 million) by 2025, the company supports.

“A major driver of the global pollution crisis is our throwaway culture. We need a systemic shift toward reuse and waste prevention, and we need it urgently. It is therefore good to see companies urging customers to swap to more sustainable, multi-use products,” Dorota Napierska, policy officer on toxic-free consumption & production at Zero Waste Europe, tells PersonalCareInsights.

“It’s estimated that one million single-use beauty sheet masks are being thrown away across the world every day, and as a business that cares about the wellness of people and our planet, we have to take action now to reduce unnecessary waste,” says Cooke. It is estimated that one million single-use beauty sheet masks are being thrown away worldwide every day (Credit: Polina Kovaleva/Pexels).

Instead of using single-use sheet masks, Holland & Barrett urges customers to swap to more sustainable, multi-use mask formats, which have the same beauty benefits with a smaller environmental footprint.

Motivated by consumer demand
The retailer banned plastic bags in 2010, well ahead of the government initiative, followed by microplastics – such as the beads used in certain exfoliating skin products – in 2012.

Also, in 2019 it was the first high-street retailer to announce a complete ban on wet-wipes from all UK and Ireland stores.

Cooke explains that the company will continue to find ways to “reduce waste by stopping the sale of all single-use beauty products.”

Making it “easier” for consumers
The company wants to “make it easier” for consumers to choose clean and conscious beauty products that replace single-use items, have recycled or easily recyclable packaging, can be refilled, produce less waste or use less water.

To encourage people to make the switch, Holland & Barrett is also partnering with Ocean Generation and will donate 5 percent of profits from the sale of multi-use masks to the charity, which campaigns to reduce plastic waste in oceans.

“Holland & Barrett are taking the initiative to ban single-use beauty masks and to draw attention to yet another item that has crept into our lifestyles, with few people giving a second thought to the effects these may have on the environment,” says Jo Ruxton, founder of Ocean Generation.

“Convenience does not go hand-in-hand with conservation of the natural world, and at Ocean Generation, we have witnessed the damage our ‘addiction’ to single-use items has inflicted upon it.”

“We hope that by drawing attention to this one item, people will start to consider other ways they can purchase beauty products without causing potential harm to the planet.”Holland & Barrett urges customers to swap to more sustainable, multi-use mask formats (Credit: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels).

Support for the movement
Also in support of the company’s ban on single-sheet masks is the British Beauty Council, an organization that works to engage politicians and business leaders about the value of British beauty to the national economy.

“Our insatiable beauty consumption is adding to the pollution of our planet through the use and post-usage of our products,” says Jayn Sterland, sustainable beauty coalition chair at the British Beauty Council.

“In many ways, every beauty product can be considered ‘single-use’ when you consider the plastic pot our moisturizer comes in may take over one thousand years to degrade. It’s time we cleaned up our act and started asking ourselves, is my beauty worth the harm it is doing to our planet.”

Limiting single-use objects
Consumer demand for sustainability in personal care products has prompted industry to pilot new methods of limiting unnecessary waste. Recently, LastObject – a sustainable alternative to single-use items brand – launched LastPad, a reusable feminine hygiene product designed to reduce the industry’s environmental impact.

In similar eco-friendly moves, the L’Occitane group announced it is committed to sourcing all plant-based products from biodiversity-friendly sources and reducing the amount of plastic used in its packaging by 10 percent by 2025.

By Nicole Kerr