‘The Great British Beauty Clean Up’, created by the British Beauty Council and its Sustainable Beauty Coalition, is returning in 2026.
Launched in March 2025, the campaign is expanding its remit beyond recycling with an increased focus towards reuse, refill, and the rescue of surplus stock from landfill and incineration.
The campaign will begin on 2 March 2026 to align with Global Recycling Day (18 March) and the UN International Day of Zero Waste (30 March).
The British Beauty Council is calling on brands, businesses, retailers and salons to “clean up its act” and “fundamentally rethink its relationship with waste”.
Victoria Brownlie, Chief of Policy and Sustainability at the British Beauty Council, said: "We can and must do better.
“With the industry accounting for one third of all landfill waste, simply recycling is no longer enough.
“The 2026 ‘Great British Beauty Clean Up’ is about reimagining waste completely.
“Whether it is donating surplus stock to companies like In KindDirect to help those in need, or using MYGroup to turn compacts into construction materials, we are asking the industry to think more purposefully about closing the loop when it comes to packaging.”
Beauty product waste has been a big problem for the industry for some time, with Cosmetics Business reporting on the issue back in 2023.
The initiative has been brought back after the industry showed “a real appetite for collaboration” in this area, Brownlie told Cosmetics Business.
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