How to purge the plastics in Plastic-Free July and beyond

As champions of the environment, we’re encouraging all our customers to find out more about ways to purge the plastic here at Festival Place.

Plastic-Free July invites us all to be part of the plastic pollution solution and reduce our plastic waste as much as we can.

Luckily, our retailers are on the case and have plenty of plastic-free products to help you in your mission – we've rounded up some of our favourites.

1. Totes amaze! Who doesn’t love a tote bag? A stylish and green alternative to plastic shopping bags, you can pick them up from lots of our retailers including Miniso, Typo, Superdrug and M&S.

2. A lotta bottle: Choosing a reusable water bottle is an easy way to reduce plastic use on the go, and there are plenty of stylish options to choose from. You’ll take pride in your green credentials with this vibrant rainbow water bottle, £10, from Tiger – perfect for keeping your drink fresh and cool as you had out to the gym, school, or work. And if you buy bottled water to keep in the fridge, swap it for a Poundland water filter jug, which is not only better for the environment, but can reportedly save a household of four who regularly buy bottled water up to £700 a year – not bad for £5!

3. Bring it back: At Lush, you can choose and enjoy your favourite products, then clean the empty packaging and return to the store. You’ll get 50p off your next Lush shop for every item returned, or five items can be exchanged for a free face mask. Lush has also partnered with Nickelodeon and Paramount Consumer Products to launch the Limited Edition SpongeBob Squarepants: Operation Sea Change range, designed to encourage shoppers to consider the sea and choose plastic-free. We love the SpongeBob Bath Bomb, £4.50, a fresh and fruity blend of pineapple, sweet wild orange oil, and popping candy for a cracking good time!

4. Fill, use, repeat: Join the refill revolution at Body Shop, and feel beautiful inside and out. Just pick up a refillable aluminium bottle and ask a member of the team to fill it up with your favourite shower gel, shampoo, conditioner or hand wash. Once you’ve used all the lovely stuff in your bottle, rinse it out, bring it back and start again!

5. Clothing revolution: As well as binning the single-use plastics, you’ll find lots of other great green initiatives at Festival Place, from make-up recycling to clothes collections. Check out the clothes and footwear recycling schemes at H&M, River Island, Fat Face, M&S, New Look and Schuh.

As a centre, Festival Place is fully committed to protecting the environment and, since 2007, we have been awarded multiple Green Hero and Green Apple awards for our recycling efforts. You can find out more about our green initiatives here.