There’s something gorgeous about a freshly-bought, sweet smelling bar of soap – but leave it by the sink and it won’t be long before it gets all mushy. Nonetheless, eco-conscious shoppers are ditching plastic liquid soaps in favour of the traditional bar.
Sales of bar soaps are up 3%, with shoppers forking out £68.3m on soap bars in the year to September 2018 (up from £66.4m the previous year), according to retail data from Kantar Worldpanel, reported by the Telegraph.
The data shows sales of bar soaps are growing faster than liquid hand soaps and shower gels – and Waitrose saw the biggest increase in sales of bars, up more than 7%.
[Read More: Why Is There Plastic In My Tampon?]
Analysts say the growth may be down to luxury brands like Jo Malone making a foray into soap, as well as consumers shunning plastic.
The damage our throwaway culture could be doing to the environment is high on shoppers’ minds – consumers are increasingly trying to live more eco-friendly lives and there’s a strong demand for plastic-free packaging, according to research from Mintel.
Mintel recently told HuffPost UK that beauty brands hadn’t historically been very environmentally-focused in the beauty industry, but have been “really picking up on that in the last year or so”.
Shoppers are also turning to shampoo bars too, thanks to innovations by brands including Lush. If you’re considering making the switch then swot up on HuffPost Finds’ review of the best shampoos and conditioners.