The Courage To Change

Written By Benjamin Proctor

In 2020, The British Beauty Council published its landmark report - The Courage to Change - to examine what we can all do to make the beauty industry more sustainable.


It provides a fascinating insight into our current environmental impact, from the ingredients used in production; to the packaging its wrapped in; to consumer behaviour and what habits can be changed to make a meaningful difference.

The British Beauty Council created The Sustainable Beauty Coalition to provide an industry wide platform for addressing these issues. This year, we're proud to have been invited to be part of its advisory committee.

The report is a vital read at anytime of the year and it’s as relevant now as it was when it was published. You can read the full report here, but we’ve also summarised some key points to consider for 2024 as we all look to make positive changes to our environmental impact:

  • Packaging forms 70% of the beauty industry’s waste. 

  • Consumers are looking to the industry to take a lead. Around two-thirds want brands to do more in helping their cause to improve the planet. They are also willing to do their part. 

  • There is a growing interest in consuming more responsibly. Consumers want to know how brands are useful to society. 

  • For beauty brands, the risk of not changing is starting to outweigh the risk of changing, uncertain and fraught with challenges as it may be.

  • Consumer purchasing decisions are increasingly informed by sustainability concerns. Unilever has found its purpose-driven brands are growing at twice the rate of its other product lines.

  • According to those surveyed, 91% of UK beauty consumers want less packaging and 88% want to be able to refill their cosmetics.

So what’s the solution?

Choose primary packaging that’s refillable, made from material that’s designed to last.

Enable customers to refill it from material that’s designed to break down.

How we’re helping brands

We started On Repeat with one clear aim - to help brands reduce waste in the beauty industry.

So we designed and developed a compostable packaging and fulfilment service so brands can make their products refillable.

  • The pouch is a high barrier, food safe film suitable for home compost, garden waste collection, community compost schemes and local recycling centres.

  • The brand sends us their product in bulk, we integrate with their e-comm store and we take care of their filling and fulfilment.

  • We help them reduce waste; and we’re also helping increase their return customers who are buying their refill directly from them.

Not only are we adding value to brands by improving their sustainability credentials, we’re also driving return customers directly back to brands to refill - a win win for the environment and the brand’s profit margin. 

Benjamin Proctor