// Holland & Barrett places complete ban on wet wipes across UK & Ireland stores
// The ban is part of the chain’s “Clean and Conscious” pledge amid the demand for sustainability
// The health & well-being retailer has become the first high street retailer to ban wet wipes
Holland & Barrett has said it will no longer buy, sell or produce wet wipes as part of its “Clean and Conscious” pledge amid a sustainability demand.
The health and well-being retailer has become the first high street retailer to perform this initiative, after becoming the first to ban both plastic bags and microplastics back in 2009.
Wet wipe products and variants will be replaced by environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives by the end of September.
Holland & Barrett said the wet wipes ban includes its entire store portfolio in the UK and Ireland, which amounts to 800 stores.
Due to environmental problems that wet wipes are notorious for causing, Holland & Barrett has called on other retailers to follow suit.
“‘There is a growing awareness of how much our current throwaway culture is damaging our oceans, beaches and rivers,” Holland & Barrett head of beauty Joanne Cooke said.
“We want to encourage our customers to think about what they currently throw away and encourage them to swap to more sustainable alternatives.
“The impact of single-use plastic on the earth is very evident, and so moving forward we will look to make our beauty offering as clean and conscious as possible.
“We are in the process of developing our beauty range to focus on recyclable & refillable and waterless products – we are making a commitment to buy into beauty that doesn’t cost the earth. We also make sure all of our palm oil is from sustainable, RSPO certified, sources.”
Cooke added: “We hope other large retailers will join us on our mission to make the high-street a more environmentally conscious place.”
In May last year, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced its plan to eliminate plastic waste by 2042, to include wet wipes.
The demand for sustainability is currently at an all time high as luxury department store Selfridges announced on Tuesday that it has become one of the first British retailers to create its own-brand food free of palm oil – a quest it achieved nine months ahead of target.
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