Our refills save1.3million kg of packaging material
Environment
At Rituals, we aim to reduce the impact we have on the environment. That's why we focus on reducing our emissions, improve our packaging and reduce the impact our ingredients have on nature.
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Our Race Towards Net-Zero
Climate change
Significantly reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is an essential step in our journey to reduce our environmental impact. And to make sure we are on the right path, in September 2024, our targets were validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
277,765
Total emissions in TCO2
Scope 1 & 2
Energy, Refrigerants, Company Cars
1,919 TCO2
1%
Scope 3
Packaging
94,733 TCO2
34%
Employee Commuting
46,329 TCO2
17%
Ingredients
49,489 TCO2
18%
Other
62,756 TCO2
23%
Supply Chain Transport
22,540 TCO2
8%
Our 2030 targets
42% absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions reduction from our 2021 base year.
51.6% intensity scope 3 GHG emissions reduction per EUR gross profit from our 2021 base year.
Our validated targets are supported by a comprehensive breakdown of our emissions, calculated according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. We are currently working with all business units to define carbon reduction actions at the departmental level, ensuring each initiative is feasible and aligned with a realistic implementation timeline. Key reduction actions we've taken are:
- Reformulation of personal care products to increase the percentage of natural origin.
- Incorporation post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in plastic, glass, aluminum, and cardboard packaging.
- Transition to green electricity across operations since 2021.
- Identification of specific stores to be removed from the gas grid.
Read more about our climate footprint
Reduce, Recycle and Refill
Packaging
Our aim is to create packaging that is optimally fit for purpose in terms of functionality, use of resources, and environmental impact. To ensure this, we follow the principles of the three Rs: Reduce, Recycle, and Refill.
Reduce
We replaced the plastic inlays of our retail gift sets with paper-based ones, significantly decreasing plastic usage while enhancing recyclability. We decreased the weight of our carton scented candle boxes by 43 grams, reducing the amount of required materials. Furthermore, we downsized the trial gift sets, resulting in an incredible 24% reduction in carton packaging.
Recycle
We are committed to promoting circularity and responsible resource use throughout our operations. Not only does this approach minimise waste, but it maximises the use of recycled materials via design that focuses on longevity and recyclability. By 2030, we aim for our entire packaging portfolio to be designed for recycling. We also intend to incorporate a minimum of 35% post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials in our plastic packaging. This initiative not only reduces the demand for virgin plastics but supports the circular economy by giving new life to used materials.
Read more
Refill
Our refill systems are another key pillar of our circularity strategy. We were one of the first brands in the cosmetics industry to introduce refills. That's now paying off with a strong and loyal customer base buying refills. We aim to offer refill options where they make commercial and impactful sense, allowing customers to reuse their original containers and reduce waste, giving a second life to consciously designed packaging. We are thrilled that our refills have been well received by our customers, and so we plan to further develop and promote refill options across more product lines.
Read more
Understanding our Impact on Nature
Biodiversity, water & pollution
As a brand that utilises the power of natural ingredients, we recognise their sourcing comes with nature-related risks. To ensure we formulate with minimal impact, we conduct nature-based risk assessments of our ingredients to understand our impact on biodiversity, water, and pollution.
RSPO
99.8% of the palm oil and palm kernel oil-derived ingredients used in Rituals' products in 2024 were from certified sustainable sources (RSPO).
Microplastics
We do not use microbeads in any of our products. Instead, we use natural alternatives such as sea salt, sugar, pumice (volcanic rock), and bamboo.
Employees
Read more
Details on Climate Footprint
As part of our carbon reduction journey, we are improving and automating our data collection and quality review processes, recognizing that accurate, timely data is critical to driving meaningful progress. We are currently ongoing a rebaseline process, and therefore we will be publishing updated figures next year, accompanied by a restatement to ensure consistency and accuracy in our GHG emissions reporting.
We know our customers and our stakeholders are invested in this journey and so, with complete transparency, we will continue to share our emissions data annually, as indicated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Reduce
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Overview of packaging
with recycled content
| Packaging made of 95% RPET | To be transitioned | |
|---|---|---|
| Bath Crystal | Hand Gel | The Ritual of Sakura |
| Bath Foam | Hair & Body Mist Travel | Laundry Collection |
| Body Cream | Home Spray | White Body Cream Jar |
| Body Lotion | Kitchen Hand Balm | White Body Lotion Bottle |
| Body Mask | Kitchen Hand Wash | White Body Scrub Jar |
| Bath Oil | Kitchen Hand Wash Refill | |
| Body Scrub | Milky Bath | |
| Cleansing Foam | Shower Oil | |
| Dish Wash | ||
Refill savings
per product overview
Resources saved with Rituals refill collection.*
Classic collection fragrance sticks
CO2-eq
45%
Materials
40%
Energy
48%
Water
53%
Private collection fragrance sticks
CO2-eq
46%
Materials
39%
Energy
52%
Water
47%
Body cream
CO2-eq
38%
Materials
33%
Energy
28%
Water
24%
Day/night cream
CO2-eq
43%
Materials
86%
Energy
40%
Water
42%
Serum
CO2-eq
41%
Materials
38%
Energy
39%
Water
36%
Car perfume
CO2-eq
34%
Materials
37%
Energy
41%
Water
30%
Hand wash concentrate
CO2-eq
42%
Materials
33%
Energy
35%
Water
32%
Air freshener
CO2-eq
22%
Materials
29%
Energy
25%
Water
22%
Shave cream
CO2-eq
38%
Materials
33%
Energy
28%
Water
24%
Men's care
CO2-eq
40%
Materials
39%
Energy
39%
Water
34%
*Based on topping up your original product with a refill, compared to buying a new original product. For the fragrance sticks refill, which can be used twice, this is based on topping up your original product with a refill, instead of buying two more original products. This is external verified research conducted by The LCA Centre.
RSPO
Rituals supports the initiatives of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a non-profit organisation that unites stakeholders from the palm oil industry to develop and implement global standards. We do so, because palm oil and palm kernel oil derivatives are linked to deforestation. Additionally, we engage with suppliers to transition to 100% certified sustainable palm oil sources (RSPO). As a result, 99.8% of the palm oil and palm kernel oil-derived ingredients used in Rituals' products in 2024 were from certified sustainable sources (RSPO).
Microplastics
Much of our environmental impact occurs at the point of sourcing materials but we also acknowledge that our ingredients can continue to impact nature after long after they have been used.
Microbeads and microplastics from cosmetic products are known to contribute to water pollution after use. We do not use microbeads in any of our products due to these legitimate environmental concerns associated with the accumulation of microplastics in our oceans. Instead, we use natural alternatives such as sea salt, sugar, pumice (volcanic rock), and bamboo.
We closely monitor developments in regulatory requirements, and we are in the process of assessing all collections to ensure they remain in line with the REACH restriction on Microplastics recently adopted by the European Commission*.
Since many of our ingredients are from natural origin**, our use of synthetic polymers is limited and less than 1% of our ingredients are at risk of being in-scope of the microplastic restriction. Where products are found to fall in scope of the restrictions, they will be reformulated in line with the regulatory timeframe. Next to the regulations, we follow public initiatives against microplastics closely and seek to use alternative ingredients where possible.
*Regulation 2023/20555 amendment to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
** natural origin according to ISO16128