Clorox aims to cut virgin plastic use by half

Clorox Co., which makes many well-known products aside from its bleach brand, is launching a new wide-ranging strategy that will impact how the company views and uses plastics.

The Oakland, Calif.-based consumer goods firm sees its new Ignite Strategy as a way to expand both sales and profits alongside a set of environmental, social and government (ESG) goals that will impact its packaging choices in the next decade.

Clorox said its "signature" ESG goal is to reduce by half the amount of virgin plastic and paper fiber used in its packaging by 2030.

Another goal is to have all packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, the company said.

"We're making bold sustainability and environmental goals," said Linda Rendle, executive vice president — cleaning, international strategy and operations at Clorox. "These are incredibly exciting to us, particularly the first one which is our signature goal.

"We want to remove 50 percent of the virgin packaging we have in plastic and fiber. Fifty percent. That is going to require us to completely reimagine some of our categories. It's going to require us to reinvent parts of our supply chain. It's going to require us to partner with retailers to transform categories," Rendle said during an investors presentation available on the company's website.

Along with boosting the amount of recycled resin used in product packaging, the new company strategy also will impact Clorox's line of Glad-brand trash bags.

Instead of putting rolls of trash bags in paperboard cartons, Clorox sees the value of encasing those rolls in a plastic wrap, which will significantly cut the amount of packaging. That's how Glad trash bags are sold in Australia and New Zealand already, but the change has yet to come to the United States, said Andy Mowery, senior vice president and chief product supply offer at Clorox.

The company also is making improvements in the trash bags, themselves, that will see a resin reduction while providing a stronger product in its Force Flex Plus brand.

"It's a better trash bag for our consumers and it uses 10-15 percent less resin. Less resin lessens our exposure and risk in the resin market and improves our environmental footprint," Mowery said.

In terms of its namesake bleach product, Clorox will continue to remove water to allow for smaller containers and more concentrated formulas. The company already has done this with positive results and expects to continue, a move that will result in smaller plastic packaging. The new round of product compaction will cut resin use by 15 percent.

"Here's the core message: The message is sustainability is a source of fuel," Mowery said of the Ignite Strategy.

"We often hear that sustainability is going to cost. And in some cases, that's true. Post-consumer recycled resin costs more than virgin resin. We know that. But you turn this into a source of fuel by having an elimination mindset. Where can we eliminate packaging? Where can we eliminate water? Where can we eliminate transportation?" he said.

Along with Clorox and Glad, the company's other brands include Kingsford, Fresh Step, Pine Sol, Liquid Plumr, Burt's Bees, Brita and Hidden Valley.