Gail's Bakery, Tunbridge Wells (left) and LUSH Cosmetics, Oxford Street (right)
Gail's Bakery, Tunbridge Wells (left) and LUSH Cosmetics, Oxford Street (right)

With circularity being the driving force behind all that we do here at Smile Plastics, we are naturally drawn to likeminded brands with complementary values.

Take two of our collaborators: LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics and GAIL’s bakery. Both are dedicated to high-quality, artisanal production and a commitment to freshness that drives their offerings – from hand-crafted cosmetics to daily-baked goods. Sustainability is at the heart of their business practices, embracing a circular economy and, as part of this, incorporating Smile Plastics’ materials into their eco-conscious store designs – often rolled out on a large-scale and delivered within a fast turnaround.

Lending LUSH a hand in achieving optimum store sustainability

We’ve long been collaborators of LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, first supporting the brand back in 2016. With a shared value system of contributing to a more sustainable world, our recycled/recyclable plastic panels form the perfect platform from which to showcase their hugely popular, scent-sational cosmetics, which includes bath bombs, soap, shampoo, and much more.

In LUSH stores, from London’s Oxford Street to Bristol’s Cabot Circus, you’ll find our materials used in abundance, and in all manner of ways, as part of the brand’s reduce, reuse, recycle ethos. For the latest LUSH retail scheme in Bristol, for instance, our product is used for all surfaces and countertops.

A combination of panels in our Alba, Charcoal and Orca ranges sit alongside upcycled elements, such as furniture, altogether resulting in the creation of a comprehensive closed-loop material palette. Similar schemes feature in London and beyond. Through specifying these Smile products for its store interiors, the Dorset born brand has diverted around 12 tonnes of would-be waste from landfill – that’s around the same weight as two African bush elephants!

As well as meeting the brief in terms of embodying circular economy principles, our materials are also aesthetically symbiotic with the LUSH products due to their unique, beautifully irregular appearance. Whether it be the glimmer of yoghurt pot foil in Alba; the striking monochrome palette of Charcoal’s reclaimed mixture of medical equipment and food waste packaging; or the dramatic dappled effect of Orca, the pairing of the latest LUSH offerings with our material mixes culminates in an unparalleled visual feast.

Alba in 20mm in LUSH Cosmetics Bristol (left) and Oxford Street (right)

Sustainable settings? The proof is in the pudding at GAIL’s bakery

Much like us, GAIL’s – the hugely popular, community-focused bakery – is committed to supporting a circular economy. It does this through an end-to-end food system; by carefully selecting like-minded suppliers of good quality ingredients; and being fervently dedicated to waste reduction and sustainable sourcing across all that it does.

Its ‘Waste Not’ range of bread, pantry items and pasties incorporate by-products from the baking process, such as offcuts of dough and the previous day’s bread. Similarly, in its bakeries GAIL’s often upcycles, re-using furniture, fixtures, and fittings across its portfolio of sites so that almost nothing goes to waste. For many reasons, including all of the above, we’re extremely proud to be amongst its material partners.

The creative force behind the design of GAIL’s is Holland Harvey Architects, which began working with the bakery a decade ago. Starting on the refurbishment of the original Hampstead site, it has since delivered 60 locations across the UK. As part of its ‘light touch’ approach to the interior schemes, keeping new finishes to a minimum and much of what’s existing exposed, Holland Harvey places great emphasis on generating positive social and environmental impact. And this is where we come in. Our Alba range – which transforms discarded yoghurt pots into stunning surfaces – has been used in abundance for counter and tabletops.

Jonathan Harvey told the Architects' Journal in a recent article: “Single-use plastics are not used within the bakery’s packaging and so are certainly avoided in their design. However, Smile Plastics creates solid surfaces by using recycled single-use plastics, home appliances or ocean waste, helping reduce the plastic waste littering our oceans. The product they have managed to create is also ultra-food-safe, and we often use it as a surface, most notably in the Tunbridge Wells bakery, where we used their Alba material, made from recycled yoghurt pots.”

Alba in 20mm in GAIL's, Petersfield (left) and Heron in 20mm in GAIL'S, Chesire Oaks. Photography by Kat Antos-Lewis

Looking at the bigger picture, collaborations with brands such as LUSH and GAIL’s edges us ever closer to achieving a wider circular economy for all – one high street store at a time. Keen to be a part of the solution? Get in touch to find out how we can support your upcoming project.