Our Commitment To The Planet | Sustainability | Molton Brown® UK

We’re committed to making a change. That’s why by 2030, our goal is to ensure 50% of what we sell is reusable or refillable – helping you make more sustainable choices. Take a scroll through our refillable beauty journey so far…

Refillable Bath & Shower Gel Collection

The Infinite Bottle & Refill

Our ‘low impact, high luxury’ refillable Bath & Shower Gel bottle is available in our iconic fragrances and crafted from 100% recycled aluminium that’s endlessly recyclable* – this reduces energy use by 95% and CO2 emissions by 83% compared to virgin aluminium. For our packaging, the paper used for the recyclable outer carton and tag is made from 15% agro-industrial waste (from food and agricultural industries) and 40% recycled materials. Top up with our Bath & Shower Gel Refill pouches to lower your plastic footprint by 63% compared to using our standard bottles.**

Refillable Hand Wash Collection

With the same plastic reduction of 63% as our refillable Bath & Shower Gels, introduce our Glass Bottle and matching Fine Liquid Hand Wash Refill for a more conscious hand cleansing ritual.** Instantly recognisable in its bespoke Boston Round shape and iconic lens, our exquisite bottle is made from 100% recyclable thick-cut glass with a durable, weighted base.

*Excluding pump. **Standard bottles refers to a total of 1 x 300ml and 1 x 100ml bottles.

Against Animal Testing Since 1971

Refusing to compromise on animal welfare from the beginning, our co-founder Caroline Burstein declared: “Being cruelty free was very important to us – it was number one.” Ever since, our products have never been tested on animals, and any raw materials used in making them have not been tested on animals either.

We’re also proud to be Leaping Bunny-approved since 2012. The Leaping Bunny programme is the globally recognisable gold standard for cruelty free cosmetics and household products, and demonstrates that a brand is genuinely committed to removing animal testing from its supply chain. We adhere to a fixed cut-off date policy and proactively monitor our suppliers to make sure our products always adhere to the Leaping Bunny criteria.

Our supplier monitoring system is also independently audited. To find out more about Cruelty Free International and the Leaping Bunny, please visit www.crueltyfreeinternational.org.

Homegrown Manufacturing With The Earth In Mind

Manufacturing in a more sustainable way doesn’t happen overnight; we’ve been developing it for some time and continue to do so. In our Hertfordshire factory, we’ve used 100% renewable electricity since 2016 and sent zero waste to landfill in 2023. We’re proud to control all our own sourcing and most of our Research & Development from Hertfordshire too. As part of this, we believe in nurturing talented people from the local community – some of our team have worked with us for over 20 years, passing down their skills through family generations.

Staying true to our British roots

Our founders blended their small-batch products in buckets in the basement of our South Molton Street salon; a laborious but very personal way to create. It also meant they could make sure each and every bottle were just right. They then moved production to Motts Hall, the family’s country home, growing herbs in their garden for their products, and drying them in their barn. We’ve grown a lot from those days but have stayed in England ever since; now, the majority of our products are formulated and manufactured in our own facility in Elsenham, just a couple of miles away from Motts Hall.

And our commitment to our British roots doesn’t end there. We are dedicated to supporting and elevating the community in which we evolved, and since 2021, we have partnered with The Prince’s Trust alongside our parent company, Kao. Spanning fundraising activities, CV reviewing and workshops at our Head Office, we continue to work with the charity to improve the lives of underprivileged young people in the UK and, to date, have raised over £100,000 for them. And within our business, we are proud to have been a Real Living Wage Accredited Employer since 2023.

Helping To Protect Our World’s Animals

When our creators opened 58 South Molton Street, they wanted to reflect a healthy lifestyle for their guests, both inside and out – so, way ahead of their time, they created a vegetarian restaurant as part of their salon. This planet-friendly, holistic experience was completely unique back then – and one that we’ve given a new lease of life to through our product. We’re proud that our formulas are 100% vegetarian.

Our Bespoke In-Store Recycling Scheme

We launched our own recycling scheme across all stores in the UK and Ireland, so you’re now able to not only recycle plastic bottles, but also our caps and pumps that local council recycling centres aren't able to recycle yet.* Here’s how we help to promote a circular economy – and the easy steps for you to get involved.

Step 1

Pop your empty Molton Brown bottles in the designated recycling bin in-store.

Step 2

We'll recycle each and every component, and transform them into plastic resin, which can be used for moulding new bottles, crafting shoes or building roads.

Step 3

Enjoy 10% off when you return one of our 300ml bottles (or bottles that add up to 300ml).

We also offer a separate ‘Return & Recycle’ scheme in our outlet stores – this doesn’t include Step 3 above.**

*With the exception of our Kildare outlet store which can only recycle the plastic bottles – not the caps and pumps.

**T&Cs apply.