P&G's New Refillable Shampoo System Will Save 300 Million Plastic Bottles Each Year

In 2021, beauty brands have really started to step up when it comes to making more eco-conscious choices. [1] One of the major corporations continuing to put these efforts into action is P&G.

On 22 Oct. 2021, P&G announced the 2021 European launch of its first refillable bottle system with brands Pantene, Herbal Essences, Aussie, and Head & Shoulders. The "Good Refill System" consists of reusable, aluminium bottles and refill pouches that use 60 percent less plastic than regular shampoo bottles. By the end of 2021, P&G's new system will reduce virgin plastic by 50 percent versus 2016, which equates to saving a staggering 10,000 tonnes of virgin plastic per year and 300 million virgin plastic bottles each year.

"This new packaging innovation will contribute to making the reuse of packaging irresistible, while enabling a reduction of virgin plastic as per P&G's Ambition 2030 commitment", said P&G's chief sustainability officer, Virginie Helias. "It's no longer about if or what we can do, but how quickly we can do it — the window is now for embracing new sustainable lifestyles." [2] The new launch is a step toward reaching P&G's Responsible Beauty 2030 goals [3], which includes using 100 percent recyclable or reusable packaging on all P&G beauty products in the next 10 years.

Most recently, P&G also launched Olay's new Regenerist Whip Moisturiser refill pods [4] in an effort to reduce waste by a whopping 94 percent.

The new "Good Refill System" is available now at Boots online [5] and in-store