Innovations

We innovate to incorporate Sustainability criteria into our products in a number of ways, from formulation to packaging. In doing so, we find ways to deliver significant sustainability improvement without asking the consumer to make trade-offs in performance or value.

Here are just a few examples:

Laundry Compaction

After innovating to convert parts of our liquid laundry detergent portfolio to a “2X” concentrated formulation, we now use less water, generate less emissions and packaging, and have less of a shipping impact.

Ariel Turn to 30°C Campaign

Our life cycle assessment of laundry detergent revealed that one step consumed far more energy than any other: the heating of wash water during its use in the home. By developing the technology behind Ariel Cool Clean and spreading the word, we gave consumers in the U.K. the opportunity to reduce household electricity consumption—with no trade-off in performance.

Ariel Excel Gel

The consumer-inspired innovation behind Ariel Excel Gel reduces the product’s environmental impact throughout the life cycle. Its manufacturing process saves energy and water, it uses less packaging, and half the trucks are needed to transport it. In addition, the ability to do laundry at a lower temperature helps consumers save energy themselves.

Charmin MegaRoll

When Charmin bath tissue consumers expressed a desire to change the roll less often, we created Charmin MegaRoll, which features four times as many sheets per roll than a regular roll of Charmin. Along with meeting consumer needs, the product requires the use and disposal of fewer cardboard cores, and it requires less energy to transport.

Pampers

Pampers has a track record of continual improvement in the areas of packaging reduction and optimization. The brand has reduced packaging weight by two-thirds over the past two decades.

Olay Packaging

By moving from bulky plastic “clam shells” to trapped blister-based designs, Olay reduced millions of pounds of plastic packaging. At the same time, the new packaging is now much easier for consumers to open at home.

Olay’s New Pump

Total Effects, Olay’s top-selling line of anti-aging moisturizers, is introducing an improved pump design that is expected to save 800,000 pounds of plastic a year—equivalent to the weight of a Boeing 747.

Gillette Fusion

On packages of Gillette Fusion replacement blades, we reduced the plastic “envelope” to house just the blades that needed to be secured. This resulted in a 72% reduction in plastic and a 13% reduction in total packaging weight—adding up to over 1.6 million pounds of plastic removed.

Prilosec

When consumer research on Prilosec revealed packaging to be a key consumer issue, we developed an easier-to-access blister pack. By combining two blisters into one, this innovation now saves over 500,000 pounds of material each year.

Cover Girl TruBlend

Research about our Cover Girl TruBlend facial foundation product showed that using less packaging actually created a better presentation of the product on the shelf. So we eliminated the secondary packages around the primary dispenser bottle, leading to better product displays, easier shade selection, and a packaging reduction of more than 20%.

Braun

Smart Plugs, available with nearly all Braun electric razors, use 64% less energy than standard shavers—almost double the Energy Star certification average. The energy saved by one Smart Plug on standby for a year is enough to power a 60-watt light bulb for six days and nights.