Unilever declares plans to introduce recyclable toothpaste tubes
Unilever’s oral care brands, including Signal, Pepsodent and Closeup, have announced plans to switch their entire global toothpaste portfolio to recyclable tubes by 2025
After four years of development, the recyclable tubes will be available in two of them later this year Unilever largest oral care markets: France and India. First launch in France with the company’s leading oral care brand signalThe new tubes will be introduced in the largest line of products, Integral 8, which represents over a third (35%) of Unilever’s toothpaste portfolio in the country.
Traditionally, most toothpaste tubes are made from a combination of plastic and aluminum, which gives the packaging flexibility but also makes recycling difficult. Instead of aluminum, a material is used for the new pipes, which consists mainly of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), one of the most recyclable plastics in the world.
At 220 microns, it will also be the thinnest plastic material available on the toothpaste market, reducing the amount of plastic needed for each tube. In order to promote a broader change in the industry, the innovation is made available to other companies.
Samir Singh, Executive Vice President, Global Skin Cleansing and Oral Care, said, “Plastic pollution is without a doubt one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. We can see the impact on our planet every day, including the billions of toothpaste tubes dumped in landfills every year. For this reason, I am proud of this latest packaging innovation, in which our entire toothpaste portfolio will be switched to recyclable tubes by 2025. It’s been a long and challenging road to get to this point, but we hope that this transformation will inspire the entire industry to make the change as well. “
The design has been approved by RecyClass, which sets the recycling standard for Europe, as well as laboratories in Asia and North America. By meeting these stringent requirements, the new tubes can be recycled in standard HDPE recycling streams.
Unilever’s oral care brands have partnered with several global packaging manufacturers including EPL (formerly Essel Propack), Amcor, Huhtamaki and Dai Nippon Indonesia (DNPI). In addition, formulation and flavoring experts at Unilever were essential throughout the testing process to ensure that the new tubes continued to protect the quality and taste of the product.
Babu Cherian, Head of Oral Care Packaging Research and Development at Unilever, said, “Recyclable tubes are an important milestone on our journey to packaging and, most importantly, have the potential to transform the entire oral care industry. Together with our manufacturing partners, we are making the new design available to all manufacturers interested in introducing the new material with the aim of accelerating change in the industry. “
Alan Conner, Vice President for Europe at EPL (formerly Essel Propack) said, “When it comes to making oral care sustainable, it has been a challenge to develop a product that is recyclable without adding extra plastic to the tubing. EPL is a leading global supplier of toothpaste tubes and is excited to support this breakthrough innovation that marks a major turning point for the oral care industry. It’s an important first step in reducing plastic waste so consumers can minimize their impact on the planet. Given the size and scope of Unilever, its commitment to convert 100% of its global toothpaste portfolio by 2025 will undoubtedly drive others to take action. “
To drive further change in waste management, Unilever is working with global recycling organizations to ensure that the new pipes are collected and recycled. This will be the case in France, where consumers will be able to put the new tubes in their household garbage can to collect and convert into new products.
This is just the beginning of Unilever’s journey into oral care. Brands like Signal also plan to introduce more post-consumer recycled material (PCR) plastic in their recyclable tubes in France and other European markets by 2022. This will significantly reduce the use of new plastic and support the transition to a circular economy.
In a broader sense, the innovation contributes to Unilever’s commitment to ensuring that 100% of its plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable, and to its quest to collect and process more plastic packaging that is sold.
