Two ways P&G is working toward its packaging goals


Two ways P&G is working toward its packaging goals
Deonna Anderson
Tue, 05/05/2020 - 11:33

Procter & Gamble's Tide laundry detergent brand first introduced in January 2019 its "Eco-Box," which has been compared to a wine box because of its design made from paperboard with a tap for dispensing, in an effort to reduce the plastic in its packaging. In mid-May, the Eco-Boxes are becoming available for other fabric care product lines, including Tide purclean, Downy, Gain and Dreft.

The initiatives are related to P&G's current sustainability goals introduced in 2018, Ambition 2030, which include a commitment to make its packaging 100 percent recyclable or reusable by 2030. 

Each business unit within P&G has its own approach, and the Eco-Box was one way P&G’s Fabric Care division set out to meet its packaging goal. 

To be clear, the Eco-Box package still includes plastic — with the bag that holds the liquid detergent itself — but uses 60 percent less of it than the traditional packaging for P&G’s detergent brands.

I think perfection is [figuring] out the technologies to make this so that that bag and tap are also just easy curbside recycling.

"We've moved to a huge reduction in plastic, but [the plastic bag] not curbside-recyclable," said Todd Cline, section head for P&G Fabric Care’s research and development team.

"I think perfection is [figuring] out the technologies to make this so that that bag and tap are also just easy curbside recycling," he continued. "But there's just not technologies for that yet today, to create bags to hold liquids that are puncture-resistant and will survive all of the shipping."

In the meantime, P&G has a stopgap solution for collection and end-of-life processing in place. When the Tide Eco-Box launched, P&G partnered with TerraCycle to offer a recycling option for the inner bag. That program will continue, now including the full Eco-Box portfolio.

Cline said P&G uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to guide its work, "particularly as it comes to sustainability," noting that from an LCA standpoint, P&G is making a huge reduction in its carbon footprint and amount of plastic that's going to landfills through the Eco-Box packaging effort. 

"For us, that's a technical trade-off at the start. But it's one of those that if we waited for perfection ... we would be sitting on this technology that could have a really great benefit from a sustainability standpoint, but holding it until it's perfect," Cline said, referring to the need to engage TerraCycle on collection. 

When the new Eco-Box detergents hit the market — the products will be available online only from major U.S. retailers — Cline said they will continue to test and iterate on the packaging to improve it.

All paper, no plastic

In a different part of the company, P&G...

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