Plastic, waste & recycling

Waste poses serious risks to ecosystems and human health, primarily through the release of methane and carbon dioxide from landfills. At FatFace, our ambition is to create less waste in the first place by constantly reviewing our packaging. For example, we try to only use packaging where it is absolutely necessary and we are moving away from single-use to multi-use items, such as reusable coat hangers in our stores and reusable delivery tubs instead of cardboard boxes. For the waste we can’t avoid, we follow a waste management process focused on circularity, through recycling and re-use.

Removing & minimising plastic

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, every year around 20 million tonnes of plastic waste leaks into lakes, rivers and seas across the world. Plastic is persistent in the environment and takes hundreds of years to break down in landfills. Here’s how we’re removing and minimising plastic at FatFace:

• Packaging has been redesigned to remove plastic where possible, including replacing plastic tags (kimbles) with string, fabric, safety pins, cardboard hooks or ribbon.

• Single-use storage has been replaced with reusable options. We use reusable plastic tubs for in-store deliveries, rather than single-use plastic sacks.

• We aim to use recycled and recyclable plastic throughout the company.

• 100% recycled and recyclable plastic polybags are used for shipping product. Current, plastic-alternative options are not fit for purpose to protect our product during shipping, but we are continuing to trial new formats. Bags can be recycled through appropriate soft-plastic collection and recycling streams, where these are available. See Recycle Now in the UK for more information. .

Reducing & recycling waste

Our aim is to increase our recycling rate and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. To increase recycling rates, we have installed recycling waste streams in all our facilities and are providing training to our crew on how to manage waste responsibly. Currently, 55% of our waste is recycled, with less than 2% sent to landfill. The remainder is sent to energy (this is where waste is incinerated under strict controls to create energy – you can read more about it in our ESG report).

Customer circularity initiatives

Care guide

We want to help our customers keep their FatFace favourites looking great for as long as possible. Take a look at our clothing care guide for lots of practical advice.

Care guide

When it’s time to part with your FatFace pieces, we have a number of solutions and partnerships to give your clothes a second life. Learn more about resale, reuse and recycling at Preloved Reloved.