circular economy the future is not a gamble

22 Plastics in Packaging © 2020 Sayers Publishing Group • January

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Not many people know the history ofAmerican multinational company Proc-ter & Gamble (P&G), which was founded

in Cincinnati, Ohio by two entrepreneurs thatmet my chance.

During the 19th century, ‘the Queen City ofthe West’ was a busy centre of commerce and asignificant presence in the meat-packing industrywith an extensive pig farming network. Eng-lish-American William Procter took advantageof the fat and oil by-products to build his smallcandles business, while Irish-American JamesGamble started an apprenticeship with a localsoap maker and later opened his own shop.

Procter and Gamble eventually went intopartnership and founded the company right inthe middle of America’s depression. They strug-gled, but the business survived and today isworth a cool $67 billion and employs more than97,000 people. Despite its current status, thatentrepreneurial spirit remains and is evident atits company headquarters.

On the ground floor of P&G’s HQ is the com-pany’s Corporate Heritage and Archives. P&Ghistorian and corporate storyteller Shane Meekerexplains: “The history of past product failures isno doubt entertaining, but it is also lessons fortomorrow’s success. P&G has such a longhistory of product launching that we need tokeep track of it, and our wall of product failuresis immensely informative. What went wrongfor our customer? Was the innovation on themarket too early or too late? What can weimprove with today’s technology?”

On the innovation shelves, a few productscould not missed. The widely lauded Tide Eco-Box, for example, was a landmark reimaginingof Tide’s 50-year-old detergent packaging specif-ically designed for direct shipping to the con-sumer’s doorstep. The Eco-Box uses 60 per centless plastics than the equivalent bottle (150oz)and contains an ultra-concentrated formula.On top of having less packaging, Eco-Boxdoesn’t require any secondary re-boxing orbubble wrap. The Eco-Box also enhances theconsumer experience with a no-drip tap that iseasier to use and less messy than other liquidpackaging. Unsurprisingly, it recently won aDow Diamond Award.

Another interesting product attracts the eyeon account of its near absence of packaging.GEMZ, a range of hair care products, ispresented on small individual paper-like sheets,which dissolve with water in the palm of ahand. The product is currently undergoingredesign after selling out in e-commerce, but it

illustrates yet another path that P&G is takingfor a cleaner planet.

Loop is probably one of the most publicisedprojects to address packaging waste at present.Launched by waste management firm TerraCyclelast year, Loop is a circular shopping platformdesigned to limit waste by using refillable andreusable packaging. P&G was among the firstcompanies to join the initiative, which is

currently being piloted in test markets.Under the Loop scheme, a variety of commonly

used products from leading consumer brandsare ordered in customised, brand-specific durablepackaging and delivered in a specially-designedreusable shipping tote. When consumers havefinished with the product, the packaging is col-lected, cleaned, refilled and reused. This createsa revolutionary circular shopping system.

Loop has been designed to address the issueof waste at source but also to encourage manu-facturers to take responsibility for their packagingin the long term.

Brent Heist, P&G’s section head for sustain-able packaging development explains: “Withthe Loop project, we want to explore how tooperate a reuse and refill model for our productsto see how consumers will adopt differenthabits. There must be better solutions thanlandfill. So we created a new model in fivesteps. First we worked on a proper design forthe packages, followed by a new supply of mate-

The future is not a gambleMajor brands are working hard in order to innovate and unleash the circular economy of plastics. Dominique Huret visits Procter & Gamble’s US headquarters to find out more about its initiatives

Above: Tide has been busy reimagining some of its core packaging.Left: Packaging expert Brent Heist shows some of P&G’s durable, refillable packages sold in project Loop’s New York test market

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Plastics in Packaging © 2020 Sayers Publishing Group • January 23

rials, and then we focusedon how to make the con-sumer experience really irre-sistible. After that, the returnand refill process was devisedand finally we studied the re-ordering frequency for theproducts. All five steps areclosely looped for success.”

Paris and New York arethe two pilot markets whereconsumers can apply to becomea participant and sign up forLoop. But there are constraintsto the initiative, such as thecost of the packaging depositand the cost of delivery. Someproducts tend to run more quickly and peoplewant to re-order, but their refillable tote isn’tyet full of empty containers, so the pick-uptiming is not satisfactory.

“For the moment P&G products offered indurable packaging include Pantene, Tide,Febreze, Crest mouthwash and Cascade, whileVenus & Gillette razors and Oral-B CLIC tooth-brush heads are picked up, recycled and replen-ished,” explains Heist.

Among the 24 companies in the Loop project,Unilever provides some of its skincare, soaps

and deodorants, while Nestlé supplies pet food,ice cream and coffee.

Heist continues: “The range is still limitedbut the future is promising as we are gatheringmore partners (Kroger and Walgreens wereadded as US retailers) to enable more consumersto purchase Loop products online and thereforehelp to reduce waste and increase re-use.”

Another thing high on the P&Gagenda is the Circulate Capital Project.Steve Sikra, P&G associate director ofentrepreneurship and partnerships,explains how it works: “P&G has com-mitted to be a force for good and forgrowth and this includes environmentalcommitments like reducing our carbonfootprint but also doing our share to stopthe flow of plastics into oceans. To reachthese ambitious goals, we need infrastruc-ture and funding, and that is why we atP&G have since November 2018 joinedforces with leading organisation CirculateCapital to invest in clean oceans.”

Together, the companies want to amplifytheir efforts and build an investment “runway”.

Circulate Capital is an investment firm speciallydedicated to financing companies, programmesand infrastructure that prevent ocean plastics.The $100 million initial fund will focus on infra-structure needed in Southeast Asia, where alack of capital for waste has been a barrier.

Sikra continues: “The snowball effect willplay an important role. Circulate Capital’s com-prehensive strategy addresses the critical gapsin capital needed to create an authenticecosystem of innovation and investment forentrepreneurs and partners.”

Above left: Just add water with GEMZ.Above right: Tide’s recent innovations include theEco-Box, which was devised for e-commerce as analternative to the current 150oz Tide press-tap anduses less plastics and water

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