Consumer goods giant Unilever has committed to halving its use of new plastic by 2025.
The move, which appears crafted to resonate with younger, more environmentally aware consumers, will require a “fundamental rethink” in the company’s packaging policies, said CEO Alan Jope.
Unilever has been developing new ways to deliver its products, which the company says are used daily by 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries.
Unilever aims to achieve the goal by reducing its use of all plastics by 100,000 metric tonnes and using more recycled plastic.
The multinational previously pledged to make all its plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 and to use at least 25 per cent recycled plastic in packaging by that year.
It has tried selling ice cream bars without plastic wrappers, as well as cleaning product concentrates that allow shoppers to refill bottles instead of buying new ones.
The company is also participating in an industry initiative called Loop. As part of that project, it’s selling refillable deodorant sticks made from stainless steel. The deodorant lasts one month on average and the packaging can be reused an estimated 100 times.
Massive amounts of plastic have piled up in landfills, with some emitting greenhouse gases and contributing to global warming as they degrade. Plastics are expected to outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050.
