Remarkable
British eco-manufacturerrecycles cosmetic pots for Lush Cosmetics
Remarkable, the innovative UK based eco-manufacturer which creates ground-breaking products and packaging from recycled and environmental materials, is working with with fresh handmade cosmetics company Lush. This environmentally conscious retailer and product producer has chosen to outsource the recycling of its black plastic cosmetic pots from shops based in Northern England, to the quirky and innovative eco-manufacturer Remarkable.
Remarkable was founded by the eco-inventor and environmentalist Ed Douglas Miller, who recently appeared on the Channel 4 programme The Secret Millionaire where he worked with a number of charities in Norwich. Back to business as usual since the show aired in October, Ed is dedicated to helping UK retailers to becoming more environmentally responsible with their packaging and recycling of waste materials.
The team behind the major cosmetics company Lush is already committed to “closing loops” and reducing waste output in helping to safeguard the environment. This has involved Lush working closely with various packaging suppliers and local companies to reduce waste and find sustainable systems for the future.
According to Remarkable, the partnership with Lush is a perfect match, given that both companies sign up to the same values, namely that caring about the environment should be a top priority.Lush always prefer products to be displayed and sold unwrapped, with 46% of its products currently on the shelves being “naked”. The Lush products are designed to be solid at the invention stage, allowing them to use fewer preservatives and less packaging in as many ranges as possible. As the earth’s precious resources are being used up, it has become important for the team at Lush to look for packaging alternatives that are sustainable for the future, and not wasting material by incineration and landfill.
Packaging Buyer, Maria Feast, from Lush explained: “When Lush do have to use packaging for cosmetic products we think carefully about the journey it undertakes, both in getting to us and when it leaves. Many councils don’t have a process in place to recycle all different types of plastics, however we do know that all plastics can be recycled; it’s just a case of finding someone with a system in place.”
Currently,polypropylene plastic (PP)is not recycled by all local authorities, which led Lush to approach Remarkable to see if the eco-manufacturer could help. This resulted in Remarkable inventor and founder Ed Douglas Miller inventing a whole system to use the Lush black plastic product pots as recycled stock for thePillar of Fizzpackaging and for a limited edition gift created, called theCyclist Repair Kit, in addition to backing for promotional badges.
Lush continues to encourage its customers and staff to be more involved in their eco-values, and so created a scheme whereby any black product pots and plastic bottle tops are asked to be returned back to the stores once empty. These waste items are then distributed to either the Lush pot manufacturer in Poole, or the Remarkable eco-factory in Worcester, where they are be washed, made into small plastic chips and melted back into new pots again for use in store. Lush also ran a campaign recently to highlight the problems with plastics in the environment, which they hoped encouraged customers to get behind this “bring back” scheme. To further encourage the initiative, Lush promises to reward customers with a free bio-fresh face mask if they bring back 5 pots to one of its stores, a product which normally retails at £5.50 for 75g.
Maria Feast said, “It’s a luxury to work with someone as passionate and innovative as Ed and the team at Remarkable. It is rare to find someone in the packaging industry that is as bonkers about closing loops and recycling as we are at Lush!”
This latest relationship with a top high street retailer is yet another highlight of the year for Remarkable, with founder and inventor Ed Douglas Miller and his team constantly conjuring up new product ideas and ways to safeguard the environment. “One of the greatest goals of Remarkable is to keep raising environmental awareness, continuing to innovate and create stylish products while inspiring others to start making small everyday changes,” explains Ed. “A hallmark of Remarkable’s philosophy is that being environmentally friendly can be good fun too!”
Remarkable founded in 1996 to manufacture recycled products from UK waste in the UK
In 1998, Ed Douglas Miller wins UK inventor of the year for iconic eco-product.
In 1999, Remarkable wins UK environmental company of the year & UK recycled product of the year
In 2000, a Remarkable product is announced as a “Millennium Product” by the Design Council’s Cool Britannia awards
From 2000 – 2001, Remarkable manufactured over 3.75 million recycled pencils from plastic cups in the Millennium Dome exhibition
2002 Remarkable launches retail range
In 2006 Remarkable moves to 30,000 sq ft factory in Worcester
Currently employing 30 staff, £2million turn over, recycling over 10 tonnes of UK materials every week.
In 2011, Ed Douglas Miller appears on The Secret Millionaire programme on Channel 4