Dr. Bronner’s Paperboard Cartons Refill rPET Bottles to Ace LCA

The refill carton was initially piloted in select Whole Foods locations and on Dr. Bronner's website before being launched nationally at Target and Whole Foods, as well as online platforms like Amazon and Grove. Throughout these launches, Dr. Bronner's saw significant consumer interest and adoption of the new refill carton.

“It took a couple of years to move from choosing cartons to our market launch in July of 2023, as we needed to find a carton supplier [the supplier could not be named] that would partner with a cleaning product/body care company,” Shiber-Knowles explains. “Most carton suppliers prefer food and beverage customers, and we also needed to find retail partners to test this significant packaging change with us, design the education and communication about the change, and invest in equipment and staff in house. We also wanted to stress-test our LCA assumptions and ensure we were making the right choice.” 

Today, the carton erecting, filling, and capping are fully automated. Dr. Bronner’s erects and fills the refill cartons on a NiMCO gable-top packaging line that at its headquarters in Vista, Calif.

On-pack messaging

Design firm Studio Jelly partnered with Dr. Bronner’s on the refill package’s artwork, look, and messaging. Each of the eight fragrances of Castile Liquid Soap has its own corresponding color for easy identification on the shelf. Perhaps more importantly, the package design also had to get the right messaging across to consumers who might not be used to refill systems.

“The messaging on the packaging is to educate consumers about this. We want folks to know that our refill carton contains the same wonderful liquid soap, just in more environmentally gentle packaging, which due to its paper-based nature cannot go in the shower like a plastic bottle could,” Shiber-Knowles says. “Simultaneously, we want to encourage refilling into the containers that folks already have, diluting, and using Dr. Bronner’s incredibly versatile Pure Castile Soap for many different cleaning uses. Most people already have containers in their homes—maybe even a Dr. Bronner’s bottle. The carton is our single-use package that reduces plastic, but it’s still single use. As we get used to refilling the containers we already have in our home, demand for circular and bulk delivery systems and retail experiences will increase and single use packaging of all types will decrease.” 

An on-pack QR code takes curious consumers to the Dr. Bronner's website, which contains information about the cartons, about the LCA, about recycling, about the company's plastic reduction activity, and more.

According to the Carton Council, more than 60% of U.S. households have access to carton recycling in local programs, meaning cartons are able to carry the standard “Please Recycle” logo in accordance with the FTC’s green guides. But Dr. Bronner’s didn’t go that route.

“On our website and through consumer education platforms we share that if cartons are recyclable in your community, you can put this carton into your recycling bin, with the cap on. Keeping the cap on reduces leakage of plastic materials to our environment, even if the separated plastic ends up in landfill after the paper recycling process. We encourage consumers to check locally as recycling systems vary across the U.S. Unfortunately, there may not always be an end market for collected and separated cartons, which may affect whether a recycler will accept them. We do not want to mislead consumers or greenwash, so we do not put recyclability claims on our package,” Shiber-Knowles explains.  

What’s next?

Dr. Bronner’s isn’t resting on its laurels with the newly launched refill carton project. For instance, the twist cap is currently made using virgin petroleum polypropylene. The company is evaluating alternative options and may switch to PCR or other materials to increase the sustainability of the sourcing or end-of-life options for the caps. Meanwhile, the plastics savings keeps growing with every purchase of a carton to refill the rPET bottle, and that savings could grow even faster if the refill format were extended to other product lines. 

“For now, our Liquid Castile is the only product in cartons, but we are actively testing other products to see what else we can bring to market in this format that reduces plastic use. And it’s very encouraging that we are hearing from customers that they’d love it,” Shiber-Knowles says.

Since launching these cartons less than a year ago, Dr. Bronner’s says it has obviated more than 27,000 lbs of plastic, and is currently working to install another carton filling machine to keep up with increasing demand.

“We are so proud of our refill carton–and at the same time we also know that for the planet the best packaging is often no packaging at all. Nature itself is circular which inspires us. We hope eventually that consumer behavior will shift from single-use packaging toward a truly circular, refill-based consumption model,” Shiber-Knowles says. “In fact, we are currently piloting truly circular bulk refill stations for our liquid soaps at select retailers in California, and we hope to expand this program nation-wide over time. Our hope is that refill carton consumers join us along a journey toward zero waste; buying the carton is a fantastic step in reducing plastic use while still bringing our Castile Soap home, and the next step is refilling and reusing the containers that already exist.”

“And just seeing the response that we've gotten has been gigantic. So, it's really interesting to see that consumers even in the mass market are really ready to see this and to have this happen,” Tettero said at the event. “We're outpacing our PCR bottle two times now of what we normally would sell.” PW