L’Oreal launches Garnier shampoo bars at Boots as eco-friendly product moves into mainstream

Some 520 million shampoo bottles are thrown away each year in the UK but these bars are zero plastic waste

(Garnier)

Beauty brand L’Oreal is releasing a new line of green beauty-oriented Garnier shampoo bars across Europe.

The bars will be 94 per cent plant-based and biodegradable, using 80 per cent less packaging and 70 per cent less fossil energy to make. 

They will also be packaged in recyclable cardboard and cater to a range of hair types, with scents such as coconut, honey, oat and ginger.

Although shampoo bars have been around for years, they have predominantly been sold by smaller eco-friendly brands, or luxury boutique brands like Space NK and Drunk Elephant. Lush was one of the biggest UK retailers to offer the products on the high street but L'Oreal is the biggest so far.

The bars operate similarly to a bar of hand soap – you lather up shampoo bubbles from it to wash your hair instead of squeezing liquid from countless (sometimes not recyclable) plastic bottles.  

Viewed as a sustainable alternative, the Garnier bar will reportedly last up to two months and saves up to one bottle of water per wash. The range will be available exclusively in Boots stores initially and online for £7.99 a bar, with plans to roll them out wider to other stores in 2021.

Some 24 per cent of people said that they would consider swapping out their current beauty products if it meant no plastic footprint. Previous research has found that 520 million shampoo bottles are thrown away each year in the UK.

Garnier has also pledged to cut using virgin plastic – which is derived from fossil fuels – by 2025, which will save 37,000 tonnes of plastic a year. The brand also plans to make all of its packaging refillable, reusable, recyclable or compostable.

According to the brand’s research, 81 per cent of people think about their actions towards living a more sustainable life at least once a day, but 44 per cent find it difficult to find more environmentally friendly products while shopping.

“We hope product developments such as this will lead to a genuine democratisation of the solid shampoo category in mass market terms,” Aurelie Weinling, Garnier’s international scientific and sustainability director says.

“We want to lead by example and do everything we can to make a more positive impact on the planet,” Adrien Koskas, Garnier’s global brand president says, calling the launch of the shampoo bars “a significant step toward meeting our suitably ambitious 2025 change commitments”.