Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Marriott Banning Little Shampoo Bottles by 2020
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 28, 2019

Share

It could be lights out for tiny toiletries.
Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, said Wednesday it will eliminate small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel from its hotel rooms worldwide by December 2020. They’ll be replaced with larger bottles or wall-mounted dispensers, depending on the hotel.
The move follows a similar announcement last month by IHG, which owns Holiday Inn, Kimpton and other brands. IHG said it will eliminate about 200 million tiny bottles each year by 2021. Last year, Walt Disney Co. said it would replace small plastic shampoo bottles at its resorts and on its cruise ships. Many smaller companies, like the five Soneva Resorts in Thailand and the Maldives, have also ditched plastic bottles.
Marriott has more than 7,000 hotels in 131 countries under 30 brands, ranging from SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn to Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton. It says it will be eliminating about 500 million small bottles each year, or 1.7 million pounds of plastic.
Marriott has wanted to get rid of small bottles for years, President and CEO Arne Sorenson said. There are just too many of them, he said, and they’re difficult to recycle because of the time it takes to clean them out.
But it took a lot of work to design tamper-resistant large bottles and get suppliers on board. High-end hotels, in particular, needed to have bottles that still felt luxurious, he said.

Marriott Hotels Will Eliminate Small Bottles by July 1, 2020

“There were a lot of technical features to this that we had to get right,” he said.
Rival Hyatt Hotels Corp. is going through a similar process now. The company says it’s been testing amenity dispensers in some rooms for the last year.

“More and more people have a general consciousness of it. They don’t want to be leaving half-empty bottles.” — Denise Naguib, Marriott’s vice president of sustainability and supplier diversity
Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott started replacing small bottles early last year at some North American brands, including Courtyard and Fairfield hotels. About 1,000 of those now feature larger bottles or pump dispensers that are hooked to the shower wall.
Denise Naguib, Marriott’s vice president of sustainability and supplier diversity, said Marriott got a positive response from guest surveys. Many were relieved because the larger bottles let them use as much or as little shampoo as they want.
“More and more people have a general consciousness of it,” she said. “They don’t want to be leaving half-empty bottles.”
Naguib said most Marriott hotels will eliminate small bottles by July 1, 2020. Luxury brands will get rid of them by the end of 2020. Lower-priced brands will have dispensers or bottles that are tethered to the shower wall. Luxury brands will have untethered bottles. The bottles hold the equivalent of 10 to 12 small bottles, and all are tamper resistant.
 

Environmental Groups Are Applauding the Moves

The larger bottles will still be plastic, and Marriott still plans to replace them — not just refill them — when they run low. But Naguib said the larger bottles are easier to recycle than smaller ones.
Environmental groups are applauding the moves.
“Plastic pollution is an urgent global crisis and the time is now to think ‘reusable’ instead of ‘disposable,'” said Dianna Cohen, co-founder and CEO of the Berkeley, California-based Plastic Pollution Coalition.
Soon, hotels may not have a choice. Lawmakers in California are considering banning hotels from using small shampoo bottles in 2023, while the European Union is banning a wide range of single-use plastic items, like cutlery and plates, by 2021.
Sorenson said he expects some complaints, like Marriott heard last year when it banned plastic straws and stirrers. Many people like collecting hotel shampoo bottles, he said. His own mother used to have a drawer full of soap she took from hotels.
“Human nature is what it is and we resist change,” he said. “But people understand that this is so much better.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Looking for New Ways to Celebrate Mother’s and Father’s Days in Fresno?

DON'T MISS

A Tidal Wave of Change Is Headed for the U.S. Economy

DON'T MISS

‘Do Not Mock Us’: Trump’s AI Pope Photo Draws Backlash from Catholic Leaders

DON'T MISS

Warren Buffett Shocks Shareholders by Announcing His Intention to Retire at the End of the Year

DON'T MISS

Don’t Have a REAL ID Yet? That Could Cause You Travel Headaches After May 7

DON'T MISS

Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed Again, This Time Until May 2026

DON'T MISS

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Wins a Second 3-Year Term

DON'T MISS

Justice Department Will Switch Its Focus on Voting and Prioritize Trump’s Elections Order

DON'T MISS

Newsom Jabs at Trump and Musk, but Will AI Make California More Efficient?

DON'T MISS

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial to Delve Into the Seediest Side of Rap’s ‘Bad Boy’

UP NEXT

Don’t Have a REAL ID Yet? That Could Cause You Travel Headaches After May 7

UP NEXT

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Wins a Second 3-Year Term

UP NEXT

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial to Delve Into the Seediest Side of Rap’s ‘Bad Boy’

UP NEXT

Robbie Ray’s Gem Leads the Giants Over the Rockies

UP NEXT

World’s Tallest and Smallest Dogs Meet Up for a Playdate

UP NEXT

University of Texas Chancellor Is Named President of the University of California

UP NEXT

Here’s Why May the 4th Is Celebrated as Star Wars Day Across the Galaxy

UP NEXT

Russian Drones Hit Apartment Block in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, 46 Hurt

UP NEXT

Military Parade on Trump’s Birthday Could Include More Than 6,500 Troops

UP NEXT

Israeli Security Cabinet Backs Plans to Expand Gaza Operation, Media Reports Say

Warren Buffett Shocks Shareholders by Announcing His Intention to Retire at the End of the Year

1 day ago

Don’t Have a REAL ID Yet? That Could Cause You Travel Headaches After May 7

1 day ago

Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed Again, This Time Until May 2026

1 day ago

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Wins a Second 3-Year Term

1 day ago

Justice Department Will Switch Its Focus on Voting and Prioritize Trump’s Elections Order

1 day ago

Newsom Jabs at Trump and Musk, but Will AI Make California More Efficient?

1 day ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial to Delve Into the Seediest Side of Rap’s ‘Bad Boy’

1 day ago

Robbie Ray’s Gem Leads the Giants Over the Rockies

1 day ago

Voters to Decide if Home of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Should Become an Official City: Starbase

1 day ago

World’s Tallest and Smallest Dogs Meet Up for a Playdate

1 day ago

Looking for New Ways to Celebrate Mother’s and Father’s Days in Fresno?

Fresno City and County Historical Society is hosting two celebrations for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. A Mother’s Day Tea Party invites gu...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Looking for New Ways to Celebrate Mother’s and Father’s Days in Fresno?

1 day ago

A Tidal Wave of Change Is Headed for the U.S. Economy

1 day ago

‘Do Not Mock Us’: Trump’s AI Pope Photo Draws Backlash from Catholic Leaders

1 day ago

Warren Buffett Shocks Shareholders by Announcing His Intention to Retire at the End of the Year

1 day ago

Don’t Have a REAL ID Yet? That Could Cause You Travel Headaches After May 7

1 day ago

Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed Again, This Time Until May 2026

1 day ago

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Wins a Second 3-Year Term

1 day ago

Justice Department Will Switch Its Focus on Voting and Prioritize Trump’s Elections Order

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend