Pantene has unveiled a packaging innovation in the shape of a new organic bottle design that's reported to be the first of its kind within the hair care industry. The material used is a type of plastic derived from sugarcane and the new Pantene bottles will start to be seen on European supermarket shelves very soon, with wider global distribution to take place on a rolling basis over the next 24 months. The sugarcane Pantene eco-plastic bottles will initially contain the firm's Pro-V Nature Fusion range of hair care products and they represent a new, eco-friendly alternative to traditional bottle designs that draw on finite, non-sustainable resources. Sugarcane-based plastics deliver several advantages over petroleum plastics. For example, associated fossil fuel use drops by more than 70 per cent and, so, too, does the carbon footprint, to just a fraction of the percentage linked to older bottles.
The eco-plastic shampoo bottle looks identical to the current, in-use bottle, ensuring that the changeover from one to another will be as straightforward as it can be. Just like the present-day bottle, the eco-bottle is recyclable and it's one development area within a much bigger environmental directive within P&G - the Pantene brand's owner. Ultimately, P&G wants every single one of its products to incorporate nothing but recycled or renewable components and, in the short term, it has a 2020 goal of having 25 per cent recycled/renewable materials in use in its product mix. Pantene Eco-Plastic Bottle "The use of sugarcane-based plastic in our Nature Fusion packaging allows us to offer the same performance consumers expect from Pantene but in a more sustainable way", Pantene's Vice President, Hanneke Faber, stated in a company press release on the eco-plastic bottle. "We're thrilled to be the first hair care brand to use this technology on its packaging but we also recognize sustainability is a journey and we're fully committed to it. "Our goal is to punctuate this journey with meaningful innovations that make our communities more healthy and beautiful and we hope others will follow."
