On Friday the doors to Lush's first ever 'naked' store will open, offering shoppers in Manchester the chance to purchase shampoo, shower gels and other beauty products - including, of course, the chain's popular bath bombs - without any plastic packaging.

The cosmetics retailer has previouslytaken steps to minimise plastic packaging for its products, but has so far still used some plastic in its pots and bottles.

However, it announced last week that the new store in Manchester will be the first cosmetics shop in the country to be completely free of plastic packaging, following the success of 'naked' stores in Milan and Berlin.

"In Lush we work in an industry where the packaging costs the customer more than the product," said Lush co-founder Mark Constantine. "Now, the customer needs to worry about how to recycle something they didn't want to buy in the first place. This seems like a raw deal to us. If we can cut out all the plastic packaging, we can give our customers better value for money."

Instead of labels on packaging, Lush said all product information will be available to shoppers using the #LushLabs app, which is trialling a new 'Lush Lens' that allows shoppers to scan a product directly to get detailed ingredient information and instructions for use.

Lush said it is also launching a new 'Naked' skincare range on Friday, featuring a range of facial oils, cleansers and an eye mask sold without any plastic packaging.

The news follows an announcement from the Guardian that it has become the first national newspaper to switch its plastic wrapping for a compostable alternative, in an effort to curb its environmental impact.

Readers of the Saturday print edition are now able to put the wrapping holding the paper and its supplements together into their food waste recycling bin or home compost, where it will naturally break down.

The Guardian admitted the switch will increase production costs, but said it is "part of the newspaper's plan to reduce plastic waste following feedback from readers".