Floral Street: meet the fragrance brand solving plastic pollution
This Plastic Free July, we’re celebrating Floral Street, an independent fragrance brand supporting our planet through awareness and action
Floral Street is proof that small brands can make a big difference. Grounded in London, Floral Street is an independent British brand owned by beauty innovator Michelle Feeney and born with a commitment to people and the planet in equal measure.
Every vegan and cruelty-free product is considered, purposeful – in fact, Floral Street was the first fragrance brand to tuck their fine fragrances into an innovative, first-to-market pulp carton, turning their back on the excessive plastic and cellophane used in industry packaging.
Here, we chat to Michelle about why sustainability is at the core of the brand, and how Floral Street consistently challenges the beauty industry’s ways of working.
Why is it important for Floral Street to be part of the plastic pollution solution?
There’s too much beauty packaging in the world already, particularly from fragrance brands – I get so frustrated with the amount of cellophane wraps and bottles that are not recyclable. I want to do good for the planet, and when I decided to create Floral Street in 2017, I was never in any doubt that it would be a sustainable beauty brand. We have the opportunity to show consumers, as well as other brands, that you can create something both beautifully and sustainably. It is important to us that all of our packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable.
How did the idea come about for plastic-free pulp cartons to package your fragrances in?
We made it our mission to create a totally new way to house your perfume. They are made from upcycled coffee cups, collected from the likes of McDonald's and Starbucks. The non-recyclable plastic lining is removed and turned into energy, before the remaining cardboard is combined with local stream water to create a 'pulp'. So far, we've saved over 500,000 cups from landfill (and counting), with one cup being used to package each 50ml fragrance. I’m so proud of our pulp cartons. They are 100% compostable, reusable and recyclable – that’s an industry-first.
Tell us about your partnership with CleanHub, a non-profit organisation dedicated to freeing the planet from plastic pollution
We have always been transparent about the fact that there is one element of fragrance that we haven't yet been able to make plastic-free. This is the small plastic pump inside the bottle. There is currently no global alternative to this, so whilst we work on finding a solution, we partner with CleanHub.
CleanHub sets up waste management systems in parts of the world where there aren't any and Floral Street supports a particular system in India called Green Worms. The team at Green Worms retrieve non-recyclable plastics from shorelines and waterways - tracking above our committed support, we have, to date, helped retrieve the equivalent of 300,000 0.5 litre plastic bottles from reaching our oceans.
What’s next for Floral Street’s sustainability journey?
Since launching, we've revolutionised the personal fragrance industry and brought out a range of clean and conscious home fragrance products that are minimally packaged, recyclable and free from harmful toxins. Next, we're shaking up the bath and body category with zero virgin plastic and working with other partners around the world to collect and utilise ocean plastics in our packaging. Watch this space…
