Packaged consumer goods company Dabur India is doing away with the outer paper carton from its toothpaste brand Dabur Red Paste, in a pilot with Reliance Retail as the company attempts to reduce packaging waste.
The company is also launching a paper carton-free low unit price pack of the oral care brand created for rural markets.
“In a first of its kind step by any toothpaste brand in the market, we are pleased to announce the launch of our carton-free packs for Dabur Red Paste with a new eco-friendly design. This is a pilot initiative being rolled out in Modern Trade outlets, to begin with. Together, this move is expected to result in an annual saving of 150 tons of paper," Rajeev John, vice president marketing-personal care, Dabur India, said.
The paper saved by removing the outer cartons will be repurposed to create notebooks for underserved children supported by Child Rights and You (CRY), the maker of Vatika hair oil and Real drinks said on Thursday.
“We are excited about working with Dabur on this smart way to reduce paper usage in packaging. Supermarket and SuperApp shoppers are aware citizens and are open to embrace such green efforts. They’ll welcome this right away. Here’s looking forward to our small step today becoming an industry-wide practice, soon," said Damodar Mall, CEO grocery, Reliance Retail.
Several fast-moving consumer goods companies are attempting to reduce their use of plastic and packaging material used in their products as the waste typically ends up in landfills—in what is an environmental hazard. Companies are also scaling up efforts to recycle waste, but the quantum of plastic generated by them outstrips recycling efforts.
