P&G pilots Paboco’s paper bottle for Lenor fabric softener amid bio-based barrier challenges

21 Jul 2021 --- P&G’s Fabric & Home Care division is trialing a paper bottle for its Lenor fabric softener brand in partnership with The Paper Bottle Company (Paboco). The pilot will start in 2022 and span across Western Europe. 

The trial rollout will form the basis of a test-and-learn strategy to scale up paper packaging and incorporate it more widely across P&G’s portfolio, the company details.

“The Lenor bottle is the first of its kind in its design and technology for a fabric enhancer brand, produced from responsibly sourced wood fibers and, in the future, combined with new bio-based integrated barrier solutions,” Jerry Porter, senior vice president of R&D for Global Fabric & Home Care Sector, tells PackagingInsights.

“The bottle is durable and made of FSC-certified molded paper with a thin layer of 100 percent recycled PET as a barrier. The end goal for paper bottles is to create them without the recycled plastic film barrier that we are still using in the prototype bottle,” Porter adds.

PackagingInsights recently discussed the challenges of replacing plastic barriers with bio-based alternatives in paper bottles with Michael Michelsen, business development manager at Paboco.

Next stop recyclability
Lenor’s first paper bottle is seen as integral to P&G’s strategy to significantly reduce its virgin plastic consumption. 

The prototype bottle features a thin plastic barrier made from post-consumer recycled PET. However, future versions will integrate the barrier into the paper lining to create a seamless, 100 percent bio-based bottle, fully recyclable in the paper stream.Lenor’s paper bottle significantly reduces plastic compared to a conventional bottle.

“Our chosen pilot brand Lenor has a track record of incorporating recycled plastic into its packaging, already using up to 100 percent in its European transparent bottles. Now we aim to go a step further with bio-based packaging, which has a very promising future,” says Porter. 

Paboco’s interim CEO, Gittan Schiöld, also notes: “Our vision is to change this industry for good, and to create a world less dependent on plastic and without plastic waste, by designing for circularity and inventing packaging from bio-based materials.”

“Storing liquids in paper is particularly challenging, but its successful adoption could have major benefits for the planet.”

“Having P&G Fabric & Home Care category as a partner in the paper bottle community adds weight to the viability of the technology and brings P&G’s know-how to the table, offering new opportunities for scaling Paboco’s paper bottle technology.”

Committed to plastic reduction
P&G Fabric & Home Care’s portfolio of brands includes Ariel, Lenor, Tide, Downy, Fairy and Cascade. The division is “fully committed to reducing plastics in its packaging” in line with P&G’s 2030 ambitions to reduce virgin plastics by 50 percent. 

Fabric Care Europe has additionally committed to a 30 percent absolute plastics reduction by 2025 and designing for 100 percent recyclability by 2022. The company says it is “well on track for both commitments.”Future versions of the bottle will integrate a barrier into the paper lining to create a 100% bio-based bottle, fully recyclable as paper.

Meanwhile, Home Care is committed to using no virgin plastics by 2025. Brand-led packaging alternatives and pilot schemes are crucial elements in the pathways to lowering environmental impact, P&G says.

Paboco’s paper bottle technology is reportedly advancing quickly and promises to reduce plastic while lowering carbon footprint compared to conventional plastic packaging.

FMCG giants’ paper solutions
Paper bottles for various applications are increasingly viable and scaling at pace, backed by leading consumer goods companies, including Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, L’Oréal, BillerudKorsnäs and Alpla.

Earlier this year, Absolut Vodka transitioned from glass to the Absolut Paper Bottle in the UK and Sweden after the Paboco bottle prototype was successfully trialed in the UK in the fall of 2020. 

Diageo also unveiled a 100 percent plastic-free, paper-based spirit bottle last year. Made entirely from sustainably sourced wood, the bottle features for Scotch Whisky brand Johnnie Walker.

The launch came as Diageo announced a new partnership with venture management specialist Pilot Lite to launch Pulpex, a pulp packaging technology company. 

Meanwhile, GSK Consumer Healthcare also joined Pulpex’s paper bottle consortium as a recent member. 

By Kristiana Lalou