Absolute legend and the man we wish was our grandad, David Attenborough, has been credited for driving more than half of UK consumers to reduce the amount of plastic they use, with his surprise appearance at Glastonbury last week hailed by many as the reason more than 99 per cent of tents at the festival were taken home. Yaaaas, David!

And it seems what some are calling the ‘Attenborough Effect’ is now officially hitting the UK high streets - and we're SO here for it.

Holland & Barrett, the UK’s leading health and wellness retailer launched the world’s first zero-waste, vegan beauty bars and achieved a record number of sales. With one bar sold every five minutes in the first 48 hours of release, the launch showcases the huge customer demand for this type of product, 55,000 more consumers have signed up to a waiting list.

The handmade products, called Ethique, is a range of solid beauty bars, from shampoo and conditioner to body wash, facial cleansers and scrubs, that promise zero consumer waste.

The bars launched in a flash sale on Sunday 7th July after Holland & Barrett revealed they would act as the exclusive European supplier for the brand, stocking the bars in all 840 UK stores. Since the launch at the beginning of July, searches for the brand are up 300%, and Holland & Barrett’s website saw 13,000 brand page visits just on launch day alone. Woah.

The launch makes it the first time a full range of zero-waste, palm-oil free, vegan and cruelty-free beauty products available on the high-street and we're really hoping other stores follow suit.

On average, Ethique's bars are equivalent to three bottles of a comparable product, meaning the launch has already stopped more than 1,728 from manufacture and, subsequently, landfill. And once launched in store they will have saved over 70,000 bottles from being produced.

One Ethique beauty bar last up to five times longer than their traditional bottled counterparts, and even the sleeves they arrive in are 100% compostable and recyclable meaning zero consumer waste.

Founded by British born entrepreneur and biochemist Brianne West, Ethique is the only company in the world devoted solely to producing handmade solid beauty bars in place of liquid beauty products.

Brianne said: “We’re thrilled that a full-range of zero-waste beauty products will now be available on the nation’s high streets at Holland & Barrett stores, helping British consumers give up the bottle. Despite our best intentions as consumers, just 9% of plastic is recycled worldwide, with the rest piling up in landfills or making its way into our oceans. By creating solid bars of beauty products without the water that makes up to 90% of a traditional liquid product, we hope to help combat the plastic pollution problem by providing consumers with a zero-waste alternative. After all, there’s water in your shower – why would you need more in your shampoo?”

A greener future is looking a lot more hopeful.

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