One of the world's largest hotel companies is doing away with miniature plastic bottles in their guest bathrooms.
InterContinental Hotel Group has more than 840,000 guest rooms around the world, meaning millions of those bottles are distributed each day to hold amenities such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion and shower gel.
IHG will transition to larger bottles at more than 5,600 hotels, a move that will eliminate more than 200 million small bottles each year.
The move follows an earlier decision to remove plastic straws from IHG hotels by the end of this year as the company turns away from single-use plastics. The company said it would eliminate the use of 50 million straws each year.
IHG, which indicated the switch to larger bottles will be finished across all properties in 2021, already is well along in the transition.
"We've already made great strides in this area, with almost a third of our estate already adopting the change and we're proud to lead our industry by making this a brand standard for every single IHG hotel," CEO Keith Barr said in a statement.
IHG operates hotels under 17 brands, including Holiday Inn, Regent, InterContinental, Crown Plaza and Kimpton. More than 1,000 Holiday Inn Express locations already use full size bottles, the company said, along with some Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites properties.
The company's Six Senses brand now use refillable ceramic dispensers and the Kimpton brand currently is transitioning to larger bottles. And three newer brands, Voco, Even and Avid, have always used bulk-sized amenities, IHG indicated. Those three brands have a total of 15 hotels, with more in development.
"It's more important than ever that companies challenge themselves to operate responsibly — we know it's what our guests, owners, colleagues, investors and suppliers rightly expect," Barr said in his statement. "Switching to larger-size amenities across more than 5,600 hotels around the world is a big step in the right direction."