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Sustainability Is a Beautiful Thing at P&G

Plastic sourced from sugarcane to be included in beauty packaging.

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By: TOM BRANNA

Editor

Starting next month, Procter & Gamble will ship its first products that include sustainable and recyclable plastic sourced from Brazilian sugarcane.

Beauty is the first category from P&G to kick off the new sustainability effort. CoverGirl’s new NatureLuxe Silk Foundation is first up, followed by products within Pantene and Max Factor lines, which are slated to utilize the new sustainable packaging later in 2011. To start, beauty packaging will contain small amounts of the sugar-derived plastic.

P&G reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability and meeting its goal that by 2020 it will use 30% renewable energy in manufacturing and will be replacing 25% of its petroleum-based materials with renewable materials.

P&G would not disclose what percentage levels its renewable energy in manufacturing currently are, but Rushmore said their 2020 goal “is a significant increase” over what is being practiced now.

P&G is also working with architect and “Cradle to Cradle” author William McDonough to build more environmentally friendly manufacturing facilities worldwide, and that a hair care plant in Romania was completed in the fourth quarter. It produces 50% lower carbon emissions per unit of production compared to P&G’s most current sustainable plant, according to the firm.

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