One of the world’s largest hotel chains is saying goodbye to all travel size tubes of shampoo, conditioner and bath gels. Starting in 2021, InterContinental Group (IHG), the British-based company that owns Holiday Inn, Crown Plaza and Kimpton, is eliminating the plastic toiletries from its 843,000 room global chain of hotels. They are being replaced with bulk-sized toiletries.
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According to IHG, the company uses approximately 200 million miniature-sized toiletries in rooms every year. The company said converting to bulk-sized amenities will lead to a “significant reduction in plastic waste.” CEO Keith Barr said in a statement:
“Switching to larger-size amenities across more than 5,600 hotels around the world is a big step in the right direction and will allow us to significantly reduce our waste footprint and environmental impact as we make the change.”1
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The company is in the process of undergoing a multi-year sustainability effort. By the end of the year, they will have removed plastic straws from their hotels, and are currently using pillow covers and duvets made with 100% recycled materials in many of its rooms.
IHG isn’t the only hospitality focusing on reducing plastic waste. In 2018, Marriott announced a smaller-scale effort, saying the chain was replacing miniature-sized plastic toiletries with bulk-sized dispensers at 1,500 hotels across the US. Hilton Hotels announced in March that they are recycling used soap by crushing it, sanitizing it, and turning it into new bars of soap.
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Some hotels and hotel chains take sustainability more seriously than others, but the industry as a whole has certainly become greener in recent years. With more and more customers demanding that products and services are environmentally friendly, hopefully, other companies will follow brands like IHG, Hilton and Marriott and move away from plastic products that negatively affect our planet.
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Another positive trend is the Four Seasons’ 10 Million Trees Initiative. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the hotel chain is planting 10 million trees across the thirty-four countries in which it operates. Their hope is that the effort will help combat deforestation and global warming and attract more customers concerned about the state of the planet.
California is considering a bill that would prohibit the use of small plastic bottles typically used for toiletries beginning in 2023.
