Procter & Gamble Beauty has announced that beginning this May at 500 Walmart stores in the U.S., both Old Spice and Secret brand deodorants will be introduced in all-paper, plastic-free, tube packaging.
Precise details on the composition of the tube, how it’s made, who fills it, how it’s filled, and the identity of the supplier are considered proprietary. But Anitra Marsh, Associate Director of Global Sustainability and Brand Communications at P&G Beauty, does tell us this.
“This paper tube uses 90 percent recycled content and is certified by the FSC. The paperboard tube does not contain wax, plastics, BPA, or PFA. The paperboard has an interior coating that is made from an FDA-approved fluorochemical and corn-derived starch to make the paperboard grease-proof and water-proof. New paper fibers are added to the post-consumer recycled paperboard pulp to strengthen the base material.”
Unlike the traditional oval-shaped Old Spice container, the paper tubes are round. They’re durable, feature a “push-up” design, withstand normal use, and have a suggested retail price of $9.99, “in line with some of our other product offerings,” says Marsh. P&G, which is completing the second phase of recyclability testing on the new package this fall, hopes to learn how consumers respond to the design. If successful, P&G will expand the new package across more of its line-up.
The need for recyclable and reusable package solutions has accelerated dramatically in the past two years with reports of plastic waste accumulating in oceans and landfills. Countries that have historically taken plastic waste from the U.S. for recycling, such as China and the Philippines, have announced they will no longer accept plastic waste imported from abroad.
