Procter & Gamble is aiming to raise its profile as a standard bearer for corporate sustainability, led by its CEO, David Taylor. Last year, he and P&G co-founded the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a coalition aiming to invest $1.5 billion in appropriate schemes. He has also elevated the role of vice president of sustainability to chief sustainability officer and led the launch of a program called Ambition 2030, which aims to link creating value for shareholders and consumers with a positive impact on the environment and society, to develop P&G as a force for good and growth together. Ambition 2030 will help drive the transition of packaging for its major brands to be 100% recyclable or reusable, introduce more sustainable innovations, and develop other environment-focused initiatives.[Image Credit: © Procter & Gamble]

New York-based By Humankind, a personal care direct-to-consumer subscription startup, is looking to reduce its use of plastic by introducing refillable products, including a shampoo, deodorant and mouthwash. The refillable containers come with a lifetime guarantee, but can also be recycled. The company calls the refills “"kindfills", which are in pods made from biodegradable paper and shipped in envelopes made from recycled material. The shampoo (solid bar) and mouthwash (tablets) are heavily concentrated to reduce packaging. The deodorant is available unscented or with eucalyptus.[Image Credit: © By Humankind, Inc]

Carbios, a French company focusing on enzymatic bioprocesses to improve the lifecycle of plastics, has received investment from L’Oréal, through its recently-launched BOLD Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development corporate venture capital fund. Carbios is developing technology to recycle a broader range of PET plastics and polyester fibers to create virgin-quality PET. Other companies in the Consortium include Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe. [Image Credit: © CARBIOS]

Colgate-Palmolive announced a recyclable toothpaste tube that has been recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers. The company says it’s the first of its kind and represents over five years of work, and will be introduced through the Tom’s of Maine brand in the US next year, with a broader rollout to follow. The company has a 2025 target for 100% recyclable tubes as part of its 100% recyclable packaging commitment. Toothpaste tubes are typically made from a laminate of plastic sheets, often incorporating an aluminum layer. Colgate’s recyclable tube uses widely-recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The plastic is rigid and not generally suited to ultra-thin laminate sheets, but the company’s packaging engineers found they could use different HDPE grade combinations to meet requirements. Although Colgate has got approval for the tube from the APR, it will also need to secure similar approval for other parts of the world. [Image Credit: © Colgate-Palmolive Company]

New legislation introduced in Ireland’s lower house, the Dáil, means the country will, if the bill is passed, be the first in the EU to ban the use of plastic microbeads in household and industrial cleaners. The Microbeads Prohibition Bill would make it an offence to produce or sell such products, mostly used in soaps, shower gels and facial scrubs. They can also be found in some toothpaste and abrasive cleaners. It will include products that are rinsed or washed off down a drain but excludes “leave-on” or “wear-off” products. The bill will pass to committee stage to discuss amendments.[Image Credit: © ID 955169 from Pixabay.com]