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SprayMarch13

Good things are coming in smaller packages Unilever recently unveiled a new product design that it hopes will revolutionize the deodorant market and make the category more sustainable. Starting last month, consumers have begun to see smaller, “compressed” cans for women’s deodorant on supermarket shelves throughout the UK. The new cans—from the Sure, Dove and Vaseline brands—last the same length of time as previous cans while using only 50% of the propellant, making them half the size (from 150mL to 75mL). As a result, switching to the new can may have tangible environmental benefits, including reducing the overall carbon footprint of the product by an average of 25% per can.  Across the three brands, the new-look cans use on average 25% less aluminum and, due to the smaller size, 53% more cans fit onto a pallet. This results in a significant reduction in the greenhouse gas associated with having 35% fewer trucks on the road transporting the products. This is Unilever’s first major packaging reduction initiative for aerosol deodorants since they were introduced in the late 1960s. The new cans are a result of years of research and innovation, which will allow Unilever to make positive progress towards two of its Sustainable Living Plan targets: to, by 2020, halve the greenhouse gas impact of products across the lifecycle and to halve the waste associated with the disposal of products. In a product category where 80% of UK and Ireland consumers prefer aerosols to roll-on or stick deodorants, and some 19 million cans of female aerosol deodorant are used per year in the UK, this means an immediate 24 fewer tonnes of aluminum and a resultant 283 tonnes reduction in carbon used every year for Unilever brands alone. To put this into context, this would save enough aluminum to make 1,846,000 soft drink cans or 12,000 aluminum bikes. The savings in CO2 would be equal to the average emissions of a car traveling 51 times around the earth. According to the company, the compressed innovation that allows Unilever to reduce the amount of materials used in the can is also supported by the work the company has done in recent years with the Aluminum Packaging Recycling Organization (ALUPRO) and the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA) in encouraging local authorities to accept empty aerosols in curbside collections and recycling centers. The drive has been highly successful and now 86% of local authorities in the UK collect aerosols for recycling. SPRAY March 2013 Spray 19


SprayMarch13
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