- Consumer & Luxury
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Procter & Gamble swapped to paper to offer sustainable packaging for their consumers
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is well-known, with its portfolio of iconic brands, as one of the world’s leading companies for consumer goods.
When a major international company like P&G makes a change to their packaging, it can make a big difference for the environment.
Their brands touch millions of consumers in their daily lives.
One such brand is Always, well-known and trusted by consumers for superior feminine care products. Feminine sanitary pads traditionally come in plastic packaging. For P&G, where environmental sustainability is embedded in every part of the business, an opportunity and a challenge presented itself: was it possible to swap this packaging from plastic to paper? Could the Always packaging get into the circular loop?
A perfect match – SWAPP® Bag
To further innovate and enhance the sustainable profile of Always Ultra Cotton Protection, P&G decided to swap from plastic packaging to a fully recyclable paper solution.
Paper material from Billerud was identified as the best in meeting P&G’s requirements for consumer appeal, production in bag forming and filling operations and a greatly improved sustainability profile of the packaging. SWAPP® Bag paper with its unique stretch properties was the perfect match.
Billerud was chosen as our partner for developing paper packages due to their versatile portfolio of paper grades, and their co-creation approach for developing packages along the supply chain with their suppliers, the bag makers and the brand owner.
P&G drives innovations to improve sustainability and increase packaging circularity in their supply chains. They build partnerships with suppliers and external organisations to combat climate issues. Billerud was very motivated when chosen by P&G to co-create the Always Ultra Cotton Protection paper package and to move to market quickly.
The idea of a new paper package came from P&G, and very soon the new package was on the market.
Always Ultra Cotton Protection paper
packaging supports brand values and appeals to consumers
The Always Ultra Cotton Protection paper package design emphasises the eco-friendliness of the sanitary pads themselves, creating visual and tactile harmony between the package and its organic contents.
Consumer testing revealed previously unarticulated benefits. The paper package was stable and functional on the bathroom shelf. Instead of collapsing like a plastic bag, it held its shape offering easy access down to the last pad. When asked, consumers chose the paper package over the plastic alternative every time.
When launched on the German market in a leading chain of drugstores, the new packages sold much more quickly than anticipated.
Scalable in sustainable production
An important reason why Billerud was chosen for P&G’s paper package development was for its portfolio of paper grades and expertise in working with packaging machine builders to ensure scalable, industrial production.
Another key reason was the sustainability of Billerud paper mills whose energy requirements are met by using 97% fossil-free sources.
Billerud’s sustainable energy supply and carbon footprint were acknowledged as one of the key factors that enabled this project.
SWAPP® Bag is fully recyclable
P&G is committed to positively impacting homes, communities, and the planet – especially in the areas of Climate, Forestry, Water and Packaging. SWAPP® Bag is fully recyclable in the regular paper steam. Paper material has the highest actual recycling rates which is in line with P&G’s continuous efforts to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. The new packaging supports P&G’s purpose “to touch and improve lives, now and for generations to come”.
A prize-winning project
The Always paper project has already won two major international
packaging prizes:
The German Packaging Institute Awards 2021