Founded in 1991 by Nicy Kinnaird, Space NK opened its first store in Covent Garden, London in 1993. Specializing in makeup and skincare, the luxury beauty brand became a Manzanita company in 2002 and as of August 2021 the brand has 76 stores across the UK and Ireland. As of late, the brand has partnered with mass US retailer Walmart, by taking a big leap into the fast-growing prestige beauty category. The partnership will bring Space NK products to 250 Walmart stores this summer, as well as being sold online since March of this year. The brand considers itself the ultimate curator of over 100 of the most in-demand, highly innovative, and boundary-pushing beauty brands. Space NK Partners with Handle With Care Recycling The beauty brand announced on January 15th, 2022 that it would introduce a new beauty packaging scheme in collaboration with the recycling initiative Handle With Care. The group is a circular economy company that strives to make beauty sustainable by keeping post-consumer plastics circulating through recycling, in an effort to reduce waste that enters the natural environment as a direct result of the cosmetics industry. The initiative has been elaborated to prevent used and empty beauty product packaging from ending up in landfills. This will be achieved by setting up collection points in its 74 Space NK stores across the UK. Space NK will also accept items from other brands that aren’t sold by the retailer. From there, the packaging will be sorted by Handle With Care to ensure it goes into the correct waste stream, so materials can be repurposed for the manufacturing of more beauty products, or if not, converted into the Handle’s collection of sustainable beauty accessories. Championing for circularity, Handle With Care produces personal care items made from 100% recycled materials, including razors, a hairbrush, mirror and toothbrushes. Following the principles that used beauty packaging is not to be wasted, it encourages the solution that it’s a raw material with the potential to be repurposed, and in some cases, upcycled. Chief Marketing Officer of Space NK Emma Simpson-Scott commented on the partnership - “ "Our pledge to the planet is a simple one. We will do everything within our power to be better and do better. Working closely with our partners, our suppliers, our employees and our customers, we'll strive to make our environmental footprint as minimal as we possibly can.” “From the brands we work with, to the materials we use, to the products we develop; together we will create a better space by reducing, reusing and recycling. Our partnership with Handle is the first of several initiatives we are implementing across our business in 2022." In turn, Handle With Care chose the British retailer as a partner because of its commitment to transparency, and its fresh take on beauty industry waste management. Thus, they wanted to collaborate in its shared objective to promote sustainable value chains and business models.
The Rise of Circularity in Retail Textile Exchange is a global, nonprofit organization that creates leaders in the textile industry for preferred fibers and materials. Publishing crucial information and industry data, it helps to manage and promote textile standards and in turn, enables brands and retailers to measure and track the use of its fibers and materials. Last year, the organization released its report that outlines preferred materials and sourcing guidelines in order to send ripples through the textile industry. According to the Textile Exchange’s “Material Change Insights Report”, the use of preferred cotton and recycled polyester is on the up, with more brands and companies currently striving for circularity. The report details extensive, data-backed analyses which summarize the state of fiber and materials sourcing in the textile industry. The report provides valuable insight into how the industry is taking steps towards a shift to preferred materials, which align with the global efforts outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals were put forward to assist the transition into a more sustainable and circular economy. Members include H&M, Inditex, Pact, and prAna, with the report tracking progress on SDGs, circularity levels, and an index of which fibers are used in garments. The 2020 report included an interactive MCI Leaderboard that indicates how companies performed, and in which areas they’re focusing their efforts in terms of sustainability.