The Body Shop Is Helping To Save The Planet One Wonky Carrot At A Time

The Body Shop's Carrot Wash has taken pride of place in our beauty cabinet for as long as we can remember, but now we've got an even better reason to splash on our favourite face cleanser.

Celebrating weird fruit and veggies, The Body Shop is now taking thousands of wonky carrots from British farms that can't be sold at supermarkets and rather than tossing them into landfill, is using them as ingredients in its beauty products.

The latest collection features two products, Carrot Wash (£8.50) and Carrot Cream (£14), and neither discriminate between carrots - they know that the so called "ugly" carrots are just as fresh and anti-oxidant packed as the "pretty" ones and worthy of some beauty love.

Food waste is one of the biggest contributions to our global landfill problem, so it's great news that The Body Shop is championing these cast-away products and saving our skin at the same time.

"The UK Soil Association estimates that in the UK, 20 to 40 per cent of produce is rejected simply because it doesn't look right," Diego Ortiz De Zevallos, Global Brand Development Director for The Body Shop told Bustle. "At the Body Shop we don't think this is right! So we are trying to tackle this issue by using either ingredients derived from second grade/second choice food products (like our wonky carrot) or by-products from the food industry."

"We try to use all parts of the ingredient, 'ugly' or not, to support minimal waste," he added.

And the products aren't only good for the planet, they're great for your skin too. Carrots are rich in Vitamin C which is famous for its healing properties, while a high concentration of antioxidants helps to maintain a healthy looking glow while preserving moisture.

Boasting more than 90 per cent natural ingredients - the Carrot Cream daily moisturiser uses 97 per cent - both products also come in 100 per cent recyclable packaging made from 55 per cent recycled plastic.

This isn't the first time The Body Shop has created a line that uses rejected foods in its formulas - as part of its "Ugly Beauty" campaign, the brand has also highlighted bananas which are one of most common fruits to be thrown away due to their odd appearance, as well as ginger, coffee and coconut. These have all been used in the hugely popular body butters, body yogurts, washes, scrubs, shampoos, conditioners and more.

We can't wait to see what the company comes up with next!

Featured Image Credit: The Body Shop

Topics: Hair and Beauty

Naomi Chadderton

Naomi is a freelance journalist working for Tyla. After graduating from The University of Nottingham, Naomi moved out to Dubai where she worked for Grazia Middle East and Harper's Bazaar Arabia. She is now back home and enjoying the London life.