Packaging plays an essential role in delivering products to our consumers. That’s why we’ve set ambitious goals to drive greater circularity of our packaging at end of life.

Our teams of designers, material scientists, and innovators work hand and hand to create new packaging solutions to reduces plastic, reduces transportation emission, and reuses materials while providing an incredible usage experience. In fact, these innovators around the world are working towards 100% recyclable or reusable packaging.

Check out these P&G brands and innovations that are setting a new standard of superiority and will help consumers reach their goals of being more sustainable at home.

Ariel ECOCLIC®

The new Ariel ECOCLIC® box is “the first packaging solution for P&G’s laundry capsules products that really ‘clicks’ all the boxes.” 

The patent-pending cardboard packaging is made with FSC-certified materials and a minimum of 70 percent recycled fibers. The pack is fully recyclable in curbside paper collection streams. And its sizing allows for 50 percent more packs per pallet — reducing the number of trucks within P&G facilities. Read more. Ariel ECOCLIC® box earned the 2023 Dow Awards Diamond Winner and Best in Show at the 2023 PAC Global Awards.

Learn the Secret Science behind Ariel ECOCLIC®.

Herbal Essences bio:renew shampoo with Eastman ReNew

Herbal Essences is the first P&G brand to use Eastman Renew molecular-recycled plastic in its packaging. In November 2021, Herbal Essences introduced five shampoo and conditioner collections in primary packaging made from Eastman Renew resins with 50% certified recycled plastic.* Herbal Essences bio:renew shampoo with Eastman ReNew earned an Award of Distinction at the 2023 PAC Global Awards. 

*The recycled content is achieved by allocating the recycled waste plastic to Eastman Renew materials using a mass balance process certified by ISCC.

Lenor Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Lenor is working towards circular and intelligent packaging to reduce single-use plastics in these two award-winning designs.

We’ve simplified the packaging material in our Lenor in-Wash Scent Booster Cardboard Pack — for a reduction in material weight by 20 percent and transportation requirements by 50 percent. Our teams achieved this by using FSC certified virgin board and includes 40 percent recycled fibers. Our Lenor in-Wash Booster Cardboard Pack is a Dow Awards Platinum Winner and Sustainable Design category “Best In Class” award at the 2023 PAC Global Awards.

Our Lenor Liquid Fabric Softener transparent bottles and Beads bottles use 100%* post-consumer recycling resin (PCR), a material that comes from recycled plastic product waste from consumers or businesses. The majority of our Liquid Fabric Softener colored bottles use 50%* PCR (* excluding cap & sleeve). The Lenor Liquid Fabric Softener design earned “Best in Class” in the Sustainable Design category at the 2023 PAC Global Awards.

Pampers Knifeless Opening Box

We know that many eCommerce goods are packaged in a cardboard box taped on the top and bottom. But the use of tape creates two problems: using scissors to open the box is “a top tension” for our baby care consumers, and that residual tape on the box contaminates the paper recycling stream.

Our Pampers team introduced a Knifeless Opening Box featuring two 'push-and-pull' perforated tabs, intentionally crafted to maximize user experience while minimizing manufacturing complexity and cost. Our Pampers innovation is a Gold Winner at the Dow Packaging Awards.

Air Capsule eCommerce Package: Dow Awards Platinum Winner

Air Capsule smartly starts as flat envelop & transforms into rigid-like 3D structure optimized for shipment, developed by P&G innovators to solve key eCommerce packaging challenges. It is differentiated by being a single component package that is lighter and less bulky than corrugated boxes which also require cushioning fillers.

This innovation leverages a special recyclable polyethylene film and creative use of inflatable discretized chambers for tailored structural rigidity, high load bearing, and puncture-surviving structure that provides a novel blind-to-content & secure in-place product protection. And for an added “wow” when consumers unbox: Air Capsule features a tear tab for scissor-free opening and auto-deflation for easier recycling. P&G’s Air Capsule eCommerce Packaged is a Platinum Winner at the Dow Packaging Awards and was named “Best In Class” for Packaging Innovation in Ecommerce Category at the 2023 PAC Global Awards. Read more from the Consumer Goods Forum.

At P&G, we are setting a new standard of superiority, one where consumers’ sustainability expectations are considered from the start of the innovation journey. Learn how.

P&G has been focused on optimizing the design of our packaging for over a decade:

• Between 2010 -2020 we reduced packaging per consumer use by over 12% — resulting in a material avoidance of more than 200,000 metric tons.
• We nearly doubled our use of recycled resin in our packaging in the past two years (52,800 [FY 19/20] to 96,469 [FY 21/22] metric tons).

P&G is targeting to hit the following goals no later than 2030:

• 100% of our consumer packaging will be designed to be recyclable or reusable
• 50% reduction in virgin petroleum plastic resin in our consumer packaging

Get more details about our sustainable packaging goals on our ESG portal.

READ MORE STORIES ON OUR BLOG

• World Water Week: Metrics That Matter for Water.
• 2022 It’s Our Home Awards: Celebrating the Best of Sustainability from Our Brands & Employees.
• Innovation Series: EC30 Reduces Packaging; Earns Top Endorsements.

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P&G defines our commitment to sustainable development as "ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come." We have a long heritage as a sustainability leader and we remain committed to improving consumers' lives through P&G brands and by contributing to the sustainability of our planet and the communities in which we live and work.

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