Clean Cult, the brand that brought paper gabletop cartons to the cleaning aisle, is scaling up its sustainability mission with a national launch in as many as 1,800 Target stores and on Target.com. The rollout introduces a redesigned packaging system that pairs recyclable paperboard carton refills with prefilled, refillable aluminum bottles.
“Target is where home care meets lifestyle, and now, it’s where sustainability becomes second nature,” says Clean Cult Co-founder and CEO Ryan Lupberger. “This launch is about more than shelf space. It’s about meeting millions of consumers with products that are effective, beautiful, and better for the planet, at a price point that doesn’t ask them to think twice.”
 | Read about Cleancult’s previous packaging in this related article, “Company Forms ‘Cult of Clean’ with Refillable, Reusable Cleaner Packaging” |
The launch includes 17 SKUs across hand soap, dish soap, all-purpose cleaner, and laundry detergent. Each features the brand’s updated packaging system and introduces three new scents—Pink Grapefruit, Water Blossom, and Fresh Rain. The aluminum pump bottles, first introduced in late 2023, have been re-released with new graphics and structural improvements aimed at making reuse easier and more appealing to a mass-market audience.
The new packaging marks a shift from Clean Cult’s earlier pairing of its refill cartons with reusable glass bottles. The glass bottles, sold empty and requiring at-home filling, presented too much of a behavioral barrier for many shoppers. “The glass format required too much behavior change from consumers,” says Lupberger. “So we really had to thread this needle—how do we deliver a reduction of plastic, really clean ingredients, and great packaging, but do it in a way that meets shoppers exactly where they are, without any sacrifice?”
Clean Cult is eliminating plastic waste by replacing traditional cleaning product packaging with refillable aluminum bottles and 100% recyclable paperboard cartons—cutting single-use plastic by up to 90%.Clean Cult
The new aluminum bottles are filled and ready to use, offering a more familiar and convenient format that retains the brand’s commitment to reducing single-use plastic. To make them viable at scale, Clean Cult increased material thickness to prevent denting, modified its filling lines, and added protective packaging for shipping.
To complement these functional upgrades, Clean Cult partnered with U.K.-based design firm Robot Food to develop packaging graphics that highlight the aluminum substrate. The new designs feature unprinted metallic elements paired with botanical imagery to visually communicate scent and sustainability. “Our new designs graphically have really beautiful leaves that are not printed on that show the aluminum off,” says Lupberger. “We really had to balance the clarity of the aluminum to call out the value prop alongside being at the exact same price as plastic bottles and keeping the material thick.”
The refill cartons also received a design update. While the patented gabletop structure remains, the graphics now emphasize lighter color palettes and stronger scent cues for greater shelf appeal. “It’s a little bit whiter than our previous cartons, and it’s really brought through some of the free and clear,” Lupberger explains. “We also are heroing our scents a lot more. If you look at our old cartons, they heroed the bottles front of pack and not the scents. We’re now heroing the scents, not the bottles.”
Clean Cult’s commitment to sustainability is reflected throughout its supply chain. The cartons ship flat, enabling up to 26,000 units per pallet compared to roughly 600 plastic bottles, dramatically reducing transportation emissions and logistics costs.
| | Read about another cleaning products company with a refillable/reusable packaging system in this related article, “Refill System Lets Consumers ‘Crack, Snap, and Clean’ in 10 Seconds” |
That commitment extends to end-of-life as well. The cartons are recyclable in about 70% of U.S. communities and perform comparably to plastic bottles in recycling systems. The aluminum bottles are designed for repeated use and can be recycled indefinitely once retired.
With pricing set at $4.99 for a 12-ounce aluminum bottle and $7.99 for a 32-ounce refill carton, Clean Cult aims to offer a system that aligns with both sustainability goals and consumer expectations on cost. PW
