Dove soap to lose its wrapping as beauty brand announces war on plastic

Dove soap will lose its plastic wrapping after the beauty giant launched a war on waste.

Bars of its soap will instead by replaced with an alternative coating that is entirely plastic free, as part of its wider commitment to the environment.

Dove bottles of shampoo and cream will also be made from 100 per cent recycled plastic.

It forms part of the brand's commitment to reduce plastic waste by 2025. It currently uses more than 20,500 tonnes of virgin plastic globally every year.

Dove, which is sold in more than 150 countries worldwide, has said by the end of the year its bottles will be made of 100 percent recycled plastic in Europe and North America.

The introduction will be across all ranges, but they are still searching for solutions for recycled plastic caps and pumps, as current options are still not “technically feasible”.

Efforts will continue to find an alternative material to replace the plastic film on soap.

It follows the announcement from Dove's parent company, Unilever, who have said it will halve its use of virgin plastic by 2025, by reducing its absolute use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes and accelerating its use of recycled plastic.

Richard Slater, chief R&D officer for Unilever, said: “At Dove, we are proud to have more than 100 initiatives ongoing around the world dedicated to tackling plastic waste.

“But as one of the biggest beauty brands in the world, we have a responsibility to accelerate our progress even further.”

Last month, supermarket chain Sainsbury’s announced they may introduce refillable glass milk bottles in an effort to cut plastic packaging by 50 per cent within six years.

While Lego recently said they were considering the possibility of “brick rental” schemes in a bid to cut down waste.

Commenting on Dove’s announcement Helen Bird, Strategic Engagement Manager at WRAP, said: “ Making these initiatives a success also rests with citizens; using refill and concentrate options and also recycling the packaging so that it can be remanufactured.

“Our research shows that while we are well accustomed to recycling items from the kitchen, there is often valuable plastic packaging missed from the bathroom.”