Community Trade Recycled Plastic

At The Body Shop, we’re committed to tackling the plastic crisis differently. Discover how we’re fighting for people and the planet with Community Trade recycled plastic from Bengaluru, India. Our trade will help empower the waste pickers we support with access to more sanitary working conditions, a fair price and the respect and recognition they deserve.
It’s no secret that plastic pollution has become a global crisis and the planet is drowning in plastic. It affects marine and ocean life, but it affects people too.
In India, almost a third of waste is uncollected. This has given rise to 1.5 million people known as ‘waste pickers’ who collect this waste in the informal sector. In Bengaluru, we’re working with an organisation who proudly call themselves the ‘Green Force’. They work with waste pickers who are the unsung heroes who work tirelessly to clean up their city’s streets.
‘Waste pickers’, however, are mostly made up of ‘dalits’, formally known as ‘untouchables’, the lowest social group in India’s caste system. This means that they are vulnerable to discrimination and poor working conditions.
That’s why we want to do more than fight pollution. We want to drive social change and help to empower people too.
Not using plastic is not the only answer. If used responsibly it can be sustainable, so we need to show love for the plastic that we do use.
An abundant resource of recyclable plastic already exists. That’s why we’ve started using Community Trade recycled plastic from Bengaluru, India.
This not only helps tackle the existing problem, it will also help to empower the waste pickers we support in Bengaluru with access to more sanitary working conditions, a fair price and the respect and recognition they deserve.