• Boots UK removes 2,020 tonnes of throwaway plastic from Christmas gift packaging
• Searches for eco-friendly products on Boots.com has grown by almost a third in a year*
• The CarbonNeutral BBC Earth bathroom range will help encourage customers to gift more mindfully this Christmas
• The new range focuses on reducing bathroom waste and encourages alternatives to single use plastic items

In a high-street first, Boots UK has eliminated 2,020 tonnes of plastic from its Christmas gift ranges by completely ditching single-use plastic packaging. All gift packaging is plastic-free and is intended to be recycled or reused.

Boots UK has also partnered with BBC Earth to create a new gift collection this Christmas, made up of a selection of exciting bathroom presents that are kinder to the planet. Saving the equivalent of over 990,000 plastic bottles***, the BBC Earth range provides more sustainable yet affordable bathroom alternatives, with plenty of Christmas gifts that are suitable for the whole family.

Eleanor Barker, Global Marketing Director for Gifting at Boots says: “The BBC Earth range is yet another amazing addition to our Christmas gifting collection this year at Boots. Searches for eco-friendly products on Boots.com have grown by almost a third over the last year, so we expect to see a major shift towards conscious gifting this Christmas. We’re thrilled to have removed throw away plastic from our gifts and will continue our efforts to combat plastic waste around the world.”

The bathroom is thought to have one of the biggest impacts on our home’s sustainability. It typically uses the most water and 4 in 10 people don’t regularly recycle from the bathroom**** - this is something that the BBC Earth range aims to change. The range offers total carbon neutrality, meaning emissions from each product’s lifecycle - including raw materials, packaging, transportation, retail, use and final disposal - have been calculated and offset. In doing so, they are supporting carbon finance projects who help protect rainforests and promote clean water and sanitation in Indonesia and provide clean, drinkable water to communities in Kenya.

The BBC Earth range and removal of throwaway plastic is yet another step in the retailer’s sustainability journey.  Boots UK recently launched a new recycling scheme encouraging customers to bring back hard-to-recycle items. Last year Boots became the first national pharmacy, health and beauty retailer in the UK to move to unbleached (brown) paper carrier bags, replacing plastic bags across its 2,465 stores, and stopped using plastic glitter in any new products. In 2018, Boots signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, a unique partnership for businesses across the UK with an ambition to work collaboratively to transform the UK plastic packaging sector by 2025. Boots was also among one of the first retailers to introduce cotton buds with paper stems and reformulate our rinse off products to eliminate plastic microbeads.

The full BBC Earth range includes products that are 100% reusable, vegan and certified cruelty-free***** - the gifts are available on Boots.com and select stores nationwide with prices ranging from £4 - £42.