Selfridges expands beauty circularity with nationwide cosmetics, fragrance recycling scheme

UK – Luxury department store Selfridges has partnered with recycling specialist MYGroup to roll out a dedicated beauty and fragrance take-back scheme across its stores in London, Manchester, and Birmingham.

The aim is to strengthen the retailer’s push towards circular retail models in hard-to-recycle categories.

Under the Reselfridges Recycle initiative, consumers can return empty perfume, aftershave, and cosmetic packaging to designated in-store collection points.

For every five items returned, participants receive an Unlocked Key, which can be redeemed for a range of retailer benefits, including exclusive rewards and experiences.

MYGroup manages the end-to-end logistics of the scheme, overseeing collection, sorting, and processing at its recycling facility in Hull, UK.

Through its ReFactory operation, recovered materials and residual cosmetic products are separated and reintegrated into supply chains where possible, supporting material recovery and reuse.

The national rollout follows a successful pilot at Selfridges’ Trafford Centre in 2025. During the trial period, the number of Unlocked Keys collected rose by 271% between September and November, highlighting growing consumer engagement with incentive-based recycling models.

“MYGroup has been working with retailers for many years to make beauty take-back a practical, scalable cornerstone of the sector’s commitment to recycling,” says Steve Carrie, Group Director at MYGroup.

“Through our schemes, we’ve now processed more than 40,000 tonnes of returned beauty and cosmetic packaging.”

The initiative targets a major challenge within the cosmetics and fragrance sector: packaging formats that are difficult or impossible to recycle through conventional curbside systems.

Fragrance bottles, in particular, often combine glass, pumps, metal components, and residual hazardous contents, placing them outside most municipal recycling streams.

“These products are used at scale but are typically binned after use,” Carrie explains.

“Through Reselfridges, we’re applying our established take-back solution in a department store environment, where even the hardest-to-recycle items can be captured at scale and recovered safely.”

The launch reflects wider momentum across the beauty industry to address post-consumer waste through retailer-led collection schemes.

Recently, MYGroup also partnered with the British Beauty Council to recycle cosmetic packaging excluded from household recycling.

Globally, similar initiatives are gaining traction: Sephora has reported collecting more than 100,000 pounds (approximately 45,000 kg) of empty beauty packaging through its Beauty Re(Purposed) program.

German retailers Kaufland and VollCorner Biomarkt have trialled a deposit return system for personal care packaging in collaboration with digital platform Reo.

As regulators, brands, and consumers increasingly scrutinize beauty’s environmental footprint, take-back schemes such as Reselfridges Recycle are emerging as a practical route to improve material recovery, test circular business models, and strengthen customer engagement, particularly in premium retail environments where experiential incentives can drive participation at scale.

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