Dove moves to 100% recycled plastic bottles, and plastic-free packs for its beauty bar

Plastic waste is one of the biggest global environmental and human health issues we face today: an issue being driven by a linear, single-use consumption model. To be part of the solution in creating a circular plastics economy, one where plastics are reused and recycled, Dove is accelerating and expanding its actions with renewed force following the NO | BETTER | LESS PLASTIC framework:

1. NO PLASTIC: Dove is paving the way for the rest of the sector with industry-leading innovations – eliminating the use of plastics where possible by using alternative materials and new packaging formats. Next year its iconic beauty bar single packs will be plastic-free globally^[a] and development is underway to replace the plastic outer-wrap of its beauty bar multipacks with a zero-plastic material.
   
2. BETTER PLASTIC: Dove is committed to investing in more sustainable plastic choices to reduce the use of virgin plastic, supporting the creation of a circular economy for plastics. This includes today’s announcement that Dove will start to launch new 100% recycled plastic (PCR) bottles where technically feasible, in North America and Europe by the end of 2019 – across all ranges (Dove, Dove Men+Care, and Baby Dove).^[b] Dove continues to search for solutions where recycled plastic is not currently technically feasible, including for caps and pumps.
   
3. LESS PLASTIC: Dove will leverage the technology behind its new reusable, refillable, stainless steel format deodorant sticks: minim™. This technology minimises waste by radically reducing the amount of plastic required. The launch date is not yet confirmed but work is well underway. minim™ will be trialled as part of the LOOP™ platform initiative: a first-of-its-kind, minimal waste, direct-to-consumer shopping system.

Sander Defruyt, New Plastics Economy Lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, says: “Better recycling alone will not solve the plastics problems we face today, we must address plastic waste at the source. This means eliminating the plastic items we don’t need, innovating the ones we do need so that all of them are reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and circulating all those we use by reusing them, or recycling them into new products and packaging. Action is needed now, and on all of these fronts in parallel. That is why we welcome Dove's announcements. Their significant strides help reduce Dove's use of virgin plastics, and help to accelerate the global transition to a circular economy for plastics."

Dove’s initiatives will contribute to Unilever’s recently announced new commitments on plastic:

• To halve its use of virgin plastic, by reducing its absolute use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes and accelerating its use of recycled plastic.
• To help collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells

They also build on Unilever and Dove’s long history of industry-leading action on plastic alternatives, including Unilever becoming a core partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastic Economy initiative and Dove avoiding the use of more than 10,000 tonnes of virgin plastic in the last decade.

Marcela Melero, Dove Global Skin Cleansing Vice President , explains: “At Dove, we believe in care that goes further: for our consumers as well as our planet. We are passionately committed to being one of the brands making the biggest impact against plastic waste . We know we’re not perfect, but we can’t afford to wait. We’re working to have the biggest positive impact we can, as quickly as we can, and empowering others to do the same.”

Through a combination of alternative packaging materials, recycled plastic where needed, and investing in refill technology, Dove is driving the movement to create a new value for plastics and reducing the volume of plastic packaging it produces.

Richard Slater, Unilever Chief R&D Officer comments: “At Dove, we are proud to have more than 100 initiatives ongoing around the world dedicated to tackling plastic waste. But as one of the biggest beauty brands in the world, we have a responsibility to accelerate our progress even further. Today’s announcements are an important step in our work to transform how we produce, use and dispose of plastic packaging. By making this move, we aim to drive the global recycling industry to collect more waste plastic and make more recycled plastic available for use.’’

Dove is committed to leading the fight against plastic waste, and catalysing change within the industry and beyond. Through these initiatives, Dove calls for collaborative, accelerated action to help resolve the world’s plastic problem, shifting both commercial and consumer behaviour to turn the tide against plastic waste.