By the end of this year, Dove will start the process of launching new, 100% recycled plastic (PCR) bottles (where technically feasible), across all its product ranges in North America and Europe. The brand has also announced that, as of next year, its signature beauty bar single packs will be plastic-free globally. It is also working on an alternative, plastic-free material to replace the outer wrap of the beauty bar multipacks. Finally, the company will also leverage the ‘minim’ technology behind its new reusable, refillable, stainless steel format deodorant sticks, to further reduce its plastic use.
Dove adds it continues to search for solutions where recycled plastic is not currently technically feasible, including for caps and pumps.
"At Dove, we are proud to have more than 100 initiatives ongoing around the world dedicated to tackling plastic waste," said Richard Slater, Unilever Chief R&D Officer. "But as one of the biggest beauty brands in the world, we have a responsibility to accelerate our progress even further. Today’s announcements are an important step in our work to transform how we produce, use and dispose of plastic packaging. By making this move, we aim to drive the global recycling industry to collect more waste plastic and make more recycled plastic available for use.’’
Ambitious commitment
Dove’s initiatives will contribute to Unilever’s recently announced new commitments on plastic: to halve its use of virgin plastic, and to help collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells
Earlier this month, Unilever announced plans to halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses across its portfolio by the year 2025. This will be achieved by eliminating more than 100,000 tonnes of its current plastic packaging footprint (estimated to be around 700,000 tonnes) via ’absolute plastic reduction’, while the remainder of the target will be achieved by using recycled plastics. The company will also endeavor to collect and process around 600,000 tonnes of plastic annually by 2025.
