The Incredible Shrinking Deodorant Can

04 Feb 2013

The humble deodorant aerosol is set for its first facelift since it was introduced in the 1960s as Unilever, the company behind Sure, Dove and Vaseline, introduces a new 'compressed' aerosol, which it hopes will revolutionise the deodorant aisle and make it more sustainable. The new deodorants require less propellant to deliver each spray, allowing the can to be reduced in size resulting in a carbon footprint reduction of 25 per cent on average per can. In addition, the new-look cans use on average 25 per cent less aluminum and, due to the smaller size, more can be transported at once, resulting in a 35 per cent reduction in the number of lorries on the road. Amanda Sourry, Chairman, Unilever UK & Ireland, said, "Compressed aerosols provide consumers with a product that lasts just as long as the previous one, and is more sustainable. We are confident that this represents the beginning of a revolution in deodorants, as people come to see the benefits of this new packaging." The cans will start to appear in store in the female deodorant aisle, with the 150ml versions of Sure, Dove and Vaseline Intensive Care being reduced to just 75ml.

In a product category where 80 per cent of UK and Ireland consumers prefer aerosols to roll on or sticks, and some 19 million cans of female aerosol deodorant are used per year in the UK, this means an immediate 24 fewer tones of aluminium and a resultant 283 tones reduction in carbon used every year for Unilever brands alone. Richard Swannell, Director of Design and Waste Prevention at WRAP, commented, "The new aerosols represent a step change in the aerosol category and WRAP applauds Unilever's leadership role in evolving the format. Through the Courtauld Commitment we have encouraged packaging innovation and these new aerosols deliver both impressive packaging and transport savings. We hope the environmental benefits, as well as the convenient small size, are appreciated by the consumer. Unilever's prominent support for the recycling of aerosols at the end of their life is also demonstrated through supporting initiatives such as Metal Matters." The new cans are a result of years of research and leading-edge innovation, which will allow Unilever to make positive progress towards two of its ambitious Unilever Sustainable Living Plan targets:

to halve the greenhouse gas impact of products across the lifecycle by 2020
to halve the waste associated with the disposal of products by 2020

This is the first major packaging reduction initiative for aerosol deodorants since they were introduced in the late 1960s but it is not the first time Unilever has led the industry, transforming a product to make it more sustainable. In 2007 the company introduced Persil Small & Mighty which concentrated the same number of washes into a bottle one third of the size, resulting in one third of the packaging, one third the water use and only one third the required transport compared to diluted liquids - leading the way to a more sustainable category. Unilever follows a hierarchy of priorities for waste channels, with reducing at source being the most sustainable option, through to re-using, recycling and energy capture from waste. The compressed innovation allows Unilever to make a significant environmental impact through reducing the amount of materials used in the can. However, this is also supported by the work the company has done in recent years with the Aluminum Packaging Recycling Organisation (ALUPRO) and the British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association (BAMA) in encouraging local authorities to accept empty aerosols in kerbside collections and recycling can banks.

Source: Unilever