Guernsey companies work to improve sustainability in tourism

Monday 01 August 2022

Three local businesses have been working to limit the impact of tourism on the environment by reducing reliance on single use plastics from bathroom products.

The Little Big Hotel Group, which comprises Les Douvres, Fleur du Jardin and the Peninsula Hotel, has worked with a local ESG company, Blue Parameters, to increase sustainability throughout their operations.

Blue Parameters approached Guernsey Seaweed following the success of their seaweed hand sanitizer, to see if they could deliver a plastic-reducing solution for the hotels. They subsequently produced a shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soap. 

Their products will now be dispensed using refillable bottles throughout the rooms and the soap product will also be used in the hotel’s public bathrooms as well. Guernsey Seaweed are providing the products in large, reusable containers that can refill directly into the individual dispensers. 

The full installation of the products across the Group’s hotels was completed at the end of July.

Pictured: The products feature throughout the Group's establishments. 

Guernsey Seaweed founder Ben Tustin said: “We’ve known for many years that the properties in seaweed are good for the skin - rehydrating and nourishing - as we’ve seen with our existing moisturizer and serum products. However, to produce a shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soap presented a unique challenge.” 

The base seaweed within the products is known as ‘Irish Moss’ or Carrageen. It features in many products, even beer, but was first used by Guernsey Seaweed to make hand sanitizer during the pandemic. 

Mr Tustin continued: “We learnt that [Carrageen] is a versatile seaweed and given the right conditions, very stable and retaining its health benefits over time. Following some experimenting and nearly 100 variations across the product range we have produced a locally manufactured and grown seaweed shampoo, conditioner, soap, and shower gel.” 

Managing Director of the Little Big Hotel Group, Charlotte Walker, was delighted with the end results. 

“Working with Guernsey Seaweed and Blue Parameters, we have a truly sustainable solution that is commercially viable in its own right. The dispensing bottle we are using are sustainably sourced and knowing that the product will have originated from our very shores makes this a rewarding project,” she said. 

Blue Parameters Director, James Scott-Anderson, said the shift would permanently save 42,000 single use plastic bottles a year which he labelled a “exceptional achievement”.

Pictured (top): Ben Tustin, founder of Guernsey Seaweed.