AS Watson vows to reduce plastic waste, use only sustainable palm oil

AS Watson Group is the first signee to the New Plastics Economy global commitment to reduce plastics waste.

The firm has also taken up group membership with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to help address the environmental impact of the industry.

Both moves are part of the company’s strategy to achieve its 2030 Group Sustainability Roadmap – better waste management and more responsible Own Brand products.

“We know our customers are increasingly aware of sustainability issues and therefore expect their chosen brands to share the same values as they do,” said AS Watson COO Malina Ngai, who is also CEO of AS Watson (Asia & Europe). “As the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, we feel it is our responsibility to do more, so we are making a commitment to create a more sustainable environment and offer more sustainable product choices to our customers.”

By participating in the initiative to reduce plastics waste, AS Watson will join forces with its business units to eliminate unnecessary plastic and to help reduce plastic pollution at the source. The firm has banned the use of microplastics in its rinse-off Own Brand cosmetics/personal care scrub products since 2014, and has been using 100-per-cent recycled PET in its bottled water business since 2015. It launched Hong Kong’s first reverse vending machine to collect used plastic bottles.

“AS Watson is proud to enhance public awareness on sustainability issues by supporting two new important environmental initiatives,” said Ngai. “We hope that more retail groups can also make these meaningful pledges so that together we can make our planet more sustainable.”