Featured image for Selfridges Calls Attention to Ocean Plastic Pollution with New Pop-Up Store

Selfridges Calls Attention to Ocean Plastic Pollution with New Pop-Up Store

by Rudy Sanchez on 06/14/2019 | 2 Minute Read

Upscale retailer Selfridges has opened a pop-up store-within-a-store, selling curated, plastic-conscious luxury products in their flagship market in support of World Oceans Day, highlighting the need for more sustainability in beauty packaging.

The Beauty Booth is part of Selfridges’ Project Ocean, an awareness campaign now in its ninth year.  In partnership with the Zoological Society of London, the goal is to protect the ocean from plastic pollution and overfishing, and every year, the campaign launches a new initiative to spark change. Previously, that’s included removing plastic shopping bags and single-serve water bottles, ceasing the sale of products containing microbeads, and holding cooking competitions, encouraging chefs to think about the fish they serve.

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For 2019, Project Ocean brings attention to how much plastic pollution comes from beauty product packaging, saying that only 50% of packaging found in our bathrooms gets recycled, compared to 90% for packaging in the kitchen.

Beyond the pop-up, Selfridges is carrying some of the same products offered in the pop-up in their other locations and online. Selfridges has also released a podcast series named SELF-Sustainable, offering consumers tips on how to make their lifestyle more sustainable without sacrificing luxury.

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Offering more sustainably packaged beauty products is part of Selfridges’ larger goal of ensuring half of their products are better for people and the planet. Other sustainable goals the retailer has set includes reducing carbon emissions by 15%, reduce water usage by 12%, and reduce total waste by 70%, all by 2020.

The Beauty Booth is now open at Selfridges on Oxford Street, London and runs until June 30.