SUSTAINABILITY

New product development and closed loop are both under development right now. We’ve tried very hard to solve closed loop but it’s hugely challenging to get our 20-litre bottles clean enough to reuse; our aromas cling to the plastic and the bottles don’t pass our in-house microbial testing regime. We’re still working hard on this in the background, but in the meantime, you can continue to return your plastic bottles to us free of charge and we’ll make sure they’re all recycled through our zero-waste to landfill initiative.

Our 400ml bottles are made of 100% post-consumer recycled PET – which is the least impactful plastic around. But as a material, plastic is hard to recycle efficiently; in the EU an average of only 10% of all plastic is recycled, compared to 86% for metal. We’re moving towards a circular economy model where as many of the planet’s resources as possible are reused as much as possible to reduce our demands on the planet – and our move to metal supports this. If you prefer our plastic bottle, you can reuse it by refilling it home or your local refill store before you put it in the recycling.

We’ve spent lots of time working out the best thing to do for the planet, taking a holistic view. This means trying to do lots of things at once! We’re moving towards a circular economy model where planetary resources are reused and recycled as much as possible. And this works best with metal – the recycling rates for aluminium in the EU average at 86%, whilst plastic is recycled at about 10%. This means plastic has a much higher risk of ending up in landfill or in the natural environment. We’ve selected our bottle manufacturing partner really carefully because they’re working to reduce the carbon footprint of their manufacturing facilities, so over time, the carbon footprint of our aluminium bottle will reduce.

The best thing to do with your aluminium bottle is the same as our plastic bottles: refill, refill, refill. Because recycling is good, but refilling is better. And that goes for pretty much everything – if it can be reused, reuse it before recycling.

Yes, they’re higher – but relatively very low for an aluminium bottle. We selected our manufacturing partner for their work to reduce the carbon associated with manufacturing this bottle, and the carbon footprint will fall over the next few years. We’re excited to be part of a drive to move away from plastic and into greener aluminium, and towards a recycling model which works very well. In the EU, plastic recycling rates average at about 10%, whilst metal recycling rates average at 86%. We’re determined to use fewer planetary resources for our products, so we’re striving to fit within recycling streams that are efficient and effective. Our aluminium bottle is contributing to the circular metal economy. Plus, if you refill it just once before recycling it, the carbon footprint drops below that of our 100% recycled plastic 400ml bottle. Every time you refill, you’ll bring the carbon footprint per use down – making that resource last even longer.

We’re going all out to get out of plastic – beginning with our 500ml range in 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable aluminium. This is our first step into metal, and lots of work is going on in the background to expand it by offering more aluminium bottles in the future. In the meantime, you can cut down on plastic by refilling at home or in your local refill store, or using our solid soap and haircare bars.

We’re lucky enough to have refill stations across the UK, situated within independent stores, refill vans, holiday homes and more. Find your most local refill station here.

We used to offer a closed loop scheme, until the partner we used stopped being able to meet our needs. So we’ve since taken matters into our own hands and are in the process of developing ways of closing the loop ourselves. The complexity comes in washing out old bottles to such a degree that they are so free of microbes that they meet our super high quality standards, ready to be filled again with new product.

But we’re really close now. We hope to have an update for you very, very soon. In the meantime, if you would still like to send your empty refill bottles back to us, you can do. And as soon as we can reuse them, we will.

Once your 5L or 20L Faith In Nature bottle is empty, you can rinse it out and send it back to us using our freepost address below. Simply stick the postage label straight onto the bottle – there’s no need for wasteful packaging.
Please send it to:

FREEPOST
Faith Products
Faith in Nature,
Ainsworth Road,
Radcliffe,
Manchester,
M26 4AF

We are unable to accept returns from outside the UK at this time. But keep an eye our social media for updates on this.

We’ve recently reviewed our closed loop process, and are working to bring it in house, where we can control the outcomes and be sure it meets our sustainability standards.

Whilst we’ve previously worked with a third party on this, we aim to have our new in house process in place early this year. With this, our intention is to wash and reuse as many bottles as we can, and only recycle when they’ve been returned to us in a damaged condition.

In the meantime, we're happy for you to send your bottles back to us for us to store, ahead of treating them in this way when the new system is operational.

You can find out how to return your bottles to us here.

Apologies that our new solution isn’t yet up and running, but we’re working with urgency to perfect it so once it’s here, it’s here to stay.

Our bottles have been fully recycled and recyclable since 1999. That’s more than 340 tonnes of plastic saved from landfill! But it’s still only two blue whales’ worth – and we all need to do more to cut down on our plastic consumption. So, we’re going all out to get all out of plastic –starting with our new 500ml aluminium range, in 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable aluminium.

As the message on the neck of our 400ml bottles reads: “Recycling is good, refilling is better.” And this applies to all bottles, whether they’re made of plastic or aluminium. When your bottle is empty, either refill at your local refill store or refill at home. Each of our 5-litre refill bottles saves 12.5 smaller ones. We also offer even bigger, bulk buy refills of 20-litre, as well as 2.5-litre and 1-litre options for those who have limited storage space at home.

Another great way to cut down on your plastic consumption is to make the switch from liquid to our bar soap, shampoo and conditioner. We don’t use as much water when making these bars, plus their packaging is 100% plastic-free.

Our 400ml bottles have been recycled and recyclable since 1999. It’s why they’ve always had that funny grey tinge. Because if we’re going to use plastics (and unfortunately we do still need to), then we want to ensure that as much of that plastic as possible is already in existence. One day, we hope we’ll find a way to ditch it for good. Until then, we’re doing all we can to use as little of it as we can.

Yes, our bottles are fully recyclable. Please wash and dry thoroughly before recycling your empty bottles to avoid contamination.