Unilever to introduce recyclable toothpaste tubes

UNILEVER’S oral care brands including Signal, Pepsodent and Closeup have plans to convert their entire global toothpaste portfolio to recyclable tubes by 2025.

After four years of development, the recyclable tubes will be available later this year in two of Unilever’s biggest oral care markets: France and India. First launching in France with the company’s leading oral care brand Signal, the new tubes will be rolled out across its biggest range, Integral 8, which represents over a third of Unilever’s toothpaste portfolio in the country.

Traditionally, most toothpaste tubes are made from a combination of plastic and aluminium, which gives the packaging its flexibility but also makes it difficult to recycle. Instead of aluminium, the new tubes will use a material made mostly of HDPE. It will also be the thinnest plastic material available on the toothpaste market at 220-microns, which will reduce the amount of plastic needed for each tube. To encourage wider industry change, the innovation will be made available for other companies to adopt.