Beauty, Bargains and Beyond

In an era where sustainability is more important than ever, Boots has stepped up to the plate with an initiative that's both impactful and user-friendly. The Recycle at Boots programme is designed to help customers recycle their empty beauty, health, and wellness products. It's a simple, yet effective way to contribute to environmental conservation while also reaping some rewards for your efforts. The Recycle at Boots programme is available in 800 stores across the UK. The process is straightforward. First, sign up for the programme online or through the Boots app. Then, use the app to take a photo of the items you want to recycle.  There are a few questions you need to answer for each product and then off it goes to be reviewed and hopefully approved.   After your products have been approved you can then drop off your scanned items at a participating Boots store in the box provided in store.  Not only is this programme good for the environment, but it also offers gr...

I know I am late to the party with this one, but I don't normally shop in Tesco as until recently I didn't have a local  branch.  Now that's all changed, so I can add makeup to my list of things that I can now recycle.  Tesco have linked up with Maybelline and now have boxes in some branches where you can recycle any brand of makeup. The list of items you can recycle include: Compacts and Pallets Mascaras and Liners Lip Products Plastic Tubes and Bottles Unfortunately you can't recycle Glass, Wood, brushes and polish.  I'm still on the lookout for somewhere you can recycle nail polish and makeup brushes so if you know of anywhere then please let me know. It's great that there is now a place to recycle your old and used up makeup as its the one thing that I didn't know what to do with when I was finished with it.  I'll link my post on The Body Shop recycling scheme as well as some make up can be recycled with them in case you don't have a Tesco branc...

I wanted to highlight the  Primark Instore Recycling Scheme   in case you aren't aware of it already . Primark now has blue donation boxes in every store where you can recycle your unwanted clothes, textiles, shoes and bags (this includes towels and bedsheets which a lot of donation places will not take).  The items can also be in any condition so it's great for items that aren't suitable to donate to charity shops.   The whole point of this scheme is to prevent old and unwanted items ending up in landfill. Primark have partnered with a recycling specialist called Yellow Octopus that diverts around 1m garments from landfill every month. Yellow Octopus aims for as many donations as possible to be worn again and the remainder will be repurposed into new products.  I have already taken numerous bags of items to recycle already as they weren't in good enough condition to donate to charity, so it's good to know that you can send them to an organisation that will...

Another great recycling scheme is the  Bravissimo Bra Recycling Scheme which lets you recycle your old unwanted bras (it doesnt matter what brand they are or what condition they are in).  You can just take your old bras into one of their stores and pop them in the recycling bin.    For every kg of bras they receive they make a donation to Coppafeel to help support their work highlighting the  importance of checking your boobs to give everyone the best chance of surviving breast cancer.  So not only are you recycling you are supporting a really important cause.   The bras are then sent to a recycling company based in Germany and bras are sorted into those that can be re-worn (which are sent to around 70 different countries) and those that will be recycled and could be made into padding for insulation or reworked to make car seats and dust from the recycling process can even be made into recycled cardboard.  So next time you are about to thro...

I don't know about anyone else but I am always on the look out for ways to recycle my empties rather than just throwing them in the bin.  We all know about the issue with plastic in the ocean so anything I can do to help stop a little bit of that plastic ending up in the ocean I'm happy to do.  I already recycle and I have written about Kiehl's Recycle and Be Rewarded Program  here , but there are limitations on what they will take.  The Body Shop Return, Recycle and Repeat Scheme helps recycle the more difficult beauty and skincare empties.  Its available in most UK stores and aims to be in 800 stores across 14 countries by the end of 2022. You can recycle beauty packaging, small bottles less then 50ml, pipettes, pumps, plastic pouches, mascaras, and lip gloss tubes which is great as most of them are difficult to recycle elsewhere.  You just need to make sure they are as empty as possible and clean and dry.  You can even recycle other brands as w...

Primark is one of those stores that is almost impossible to come out of without purchasing anything.  If any store is responsible for fast fashion then Primark is at the top of the list, so I have been trying to cut back on purchases and at least try to buy products that can be reused instead of thrown away.  Here are some of the reusable products that I have bought recently in Primark. I purchased Alex Steinherr makeup Remover Pads which cost £1.50 for 2 and are like a thick flannel material in a round shape which you can use with water to cleanse your face and remove makeup. The wood cutlery set cost £1.50 and comes with 4 knives, forks and spoons.  I purchased 10 reusable cleansing pads for £2 which are 73% bamboo and 27% cotton and are vegan.  These are a great alternative to face wipes and cotton wool pads and come in a bag that you can keep the used pads in and then throw them straight in the wash. Finally, I purchased a couple of reusable organic cotton shoppi...