Today, IHG Hotels & Resorts announces a global collaboration with consumer goods company Unilever to replace bathroom miniatures with bulk amenities in over 4,000 hotels.

In 2019, IHG became the first global hotel company to commit to all of its hotel brands removing bathroom miniatures in favour of larger-size amenities, a key step in its pledge to eliminate single-use items throughout the guest stay by 2030. All of IHG’s markets are now covered by bulk bathroom amenity contracts.

Unilever’s largest brand, Dove, will supply full-size hand wash, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion to IHG Essentials and Suites Collection hotels, including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

The roll out of full-size Unilever products across IHG’s mainstream brands, which accounts for around 80% of IHG’s portfolio, follows the recent launch of larger-size bathroom amenities into InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties.

The switch to full-size formats is expected to save at least 850 tonnes of plastic annually in IHG’s Americas region alone – the equivalent weight of five fully-grown blue whales or 70 double-decker London buses.

IHG’s commitment to pioneer the transformation to a minimal waste hospitality industry forms part of its 10-year Journey to Tomorrow responsible business plan, which includes a series of ambitious targets to drive positive change for people, communities and the planet. As well as switching to bulk amenities, the group is working to eliminate single-use items, minimise food waste and adopt circular solutions for major hotel commodity items by 2030.

Unilever’s 2025 plans to help create a circular economy for plastic, includes commitments to halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses in its packaging and achieve an absolute reduction of more than 100,000 tonnes; collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells; ensure 100% of its plastic packaging is designed to be reusable, recyclable or compostable; and to use 25% recycled plastic in its packaging.