The Body Shop to make plastic packaging out of pollution

Global beauty brand The Body Shop (London) is starting to make some of its plastic packaging out of air pollution. The eco-friendly retail chain says the new packaging for its successful line of body butters should reduce the amount of plastics made from oil by 70% in 2020.

The company plans to extract harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to produce containers and bottle lids.

So how exactly does it work?

Newlight Technologies (Costa Mesa, CA), the tech company which creates the new thermoplastic called Air Carbon, gathers methane from farms and natural gas refineries.

This video explains how the gas is put into a reactor with enzymes to absorb the carbon and oxygen, rearranging the particles into a solid material. It is then melted down to make pellets which can then be formed into containers and lids.

"We would rather promote the reuse of the packaging, rather than disposing of it," Kate Levine, the Body Shop's Director of Commitment and Corporate Communications, told the Huffington Post in a recent interview. "We're now working on a long-term business model where customers will be able to return packaging to our stores with the aim of it to be reused."

“The Body Shop has a tradition of leadership in environmental innovation, and we are very pleased to partner with them with the aim of introducing AirCarbon materials into the beauty industry,” said Newlight CEO Mark Herrema, in a statement. “Caps and containers can be more than caps and containers; they can be a part of how we create a better world. With The Body Shop, we are replacing oil with carbon that would have otherwise become part of the air and changing the role of materials in society.”

“We are excited about our new research partnership with Newlight. We share their philosophy that a more sustainable future can be achieved through working together, embracing innovation and driving new ways of thinking,” added Christopher Davis, International Director of Sustainability at The Body Shop.

“The Body Shop has a tradition of leadership in environmental innovation, and we are very pleased to partner with them with the aim of introducing AirCarbon materials into the beauty industry,” said Newlight CEO Mark Herrema.  “Caps and containers can be more than caps and containers; they can be a part of how we create a better world.  With The Body Shop, we are replacing oil with carbon that would have otherwise become part of the air and changing the role of materials in society.”

“We are excited about our new research partnership with Newlight.  We share their philosophy that a more sustainable future can be achieved through working together, embracing innovation and driving new ways of thinking,” said Christopher Davis, International Director of Sustainability at The Body Shop.

- See more at: http://newlight.com/the-body-shop-partners-with-newlight-to-launch-aircarbon-into-beauty-products/#sthash.315HgS9O.dpuf

“The Body Shop has a tradition of leadership in environmental innovation, and we are very pleased to partner with them with the aim of introducing AirCarbon materials into the beauty industry,” said Newlight CEO Mark Herrema.  “Caps and containers can be more than caps and containers; they can be a part of how we create a better world.  With The Body Shop, we are replacing oil with carbon that would have otherwise become part of the air and changing the role of materials in society.”

“We are excited about our new research partnership with Newlight.  We share their philosophy that a more sustainable future can be achieved through working together, embracing innovation and driving new ways of thinking,” said Christopher Davis, International Director of Sustainability at The Body Shop.

- See more at: http://newlight.com/the-body-shop-partners-with-newlight-to-launch-aircarbon-into-beauty-products/#sthash.315HgS9O.dpuf

“The Body Shop has a tradition of leadership in environmental innovation, and we are very pleased to partner with them with the aim of introducing AirCarbon materials into the beauty industry,” said Newlight CEO Mark Herrema.  “Caps and containers can be more than caps and containers; they can be a part of how we create a better world.  With The Body Shop, we are replacing oil with carbon that would have otherwise become part of the air and changing the role of materials in society.”

“We are excited about our new research partnership with Newlight.  We share their philosophy that a more sustainable future can be achieved through working together, embracing innovation and driving new ways of thinking,” said Christopher Davis, International Director of Sustainability at The Body Shop.

- See more at: http://newlight.com/the-body-shop-partners-with-newlight-to-launch-aircarbon-into-beauty-products/#sthash.315HgS9O.dpuf

Founded by the late Anita Roddick in 1976, the Body Shop became renowned for its ethical and environmental philosophy, being the first international cosmetics brand to be recognized under the Humane Cosmetics Standard for its Against Animal Testing policy. Also, the beauty brand is a strong advocate for recycling urging shoppers to bring the plastic bottles back to be refilled once empty.

The Body Shop has more than 3,000 stores in more than 60 countries.