Unilever rolls out recyclable 50% post-consumer plastic bottle for Persil detergent

18 Sep 2020 --- Persil is re-launching its liquid detergent packaging in a fully recyclable bottle made from 50 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. This makes for Unilever UK & Ireland’s first product to launch with the Clean Future vision.

The dosing ball previously provided with every Persil bottle has also been removed from the detergent line. Together, these efforts reduce the amount of virgin plastic in Persil bottles by more than 1,000 metric tons annually.

“The change in packaging may be most relevant to consumers’ experience of Persil, especially with the removal of the dosing ball. In over 8 million UK households, Persil’s packaging change comes after research revealed that more than half (53 percent) of those who do the laundry already have a detergent dosing ball at home,” a Unilever spokesperson tells PackagingInsights.

Unilever is further calling upon industry to “break our dependence” on fossil fuels.

“We’ve seen unprecedented demand for our home care products in recent months, and we need to maintain momentum on how we continue to adapt and evolve our products to ensure we are continuing to lead the way in terms of sustainability,” adds Charlie Beevor, Unilever UK & Ireland vice president of home care.

The new Persil bottle is fully recyclable and made using 50 percent recycled plastic.

The new plant-based formula has been concentrated by 23 percent, meaning the bottles are now smaller and allow for approximately 19 percent fewer trucks on the road each year.

When asked what barriers exist to use 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, the spokesperson states that Unilever is “continuing to explore ways to reduce the use of virgin plastic even further.”

Contextualizing the message
The Persil bottle features the message “Dirt Is Good” at the bottom of the front label in a move to reassess what cleanliness is.

“We believe dirt is the proud mark of a life fully lived. The ‘Dirt is Good’ initiative launched in 2005 to drive real change for the planet,” the spokesperson explains.

This taps into Innova Market Insights’s top packaging trend for 2020, “The Language of Environmental Sustainability.”

FMCG brands are increasingly acknowledging the environmental attributes of packaging as a key selling proposition of consumer packaged goods. Innova Market Insights identified “Storytelling: Winning with Words” as its top food and beverage trend for 2020, in which product packaging has become increasingly integral to brand-consumer relationships.

Earlier this month, Unilever revealed plans to transfer 100 percent of the carbon derived from fossil fuels in its cleaning and laundry product formulations to renewable or recycled carbon. It also set aside €1 billion (US$1,185 billion) to invest in the Clean Future project and finance biotechnology research, low carbon chemistry, as well as CO2 and waste utilization.

The FMCG giant also committed to halve the use of virgin plastic by 2025 and support the development of brand communications that make these technologies appealing to consumers. Unilever pledged to collect and process more plastic packaging than sold by 2025.

By Anni Schleicher

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