Packaging Digest

Seventh Generation reinvents detergent packaging with new paper bottle

At the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Seventh Generations unveiled its Natural 4X Laundry Detergent in a paper bottle supplied by Ecologic Brands. The detergent and household products company says the bottle uses 66 percent less plastic than a typical 100-oz laundry bottle and is completely recyclable. 

The bottle has the same hybrid structure as the Straus Family Creamery bottle that helped the dairy lift its nonfat milk sales by 72 percent at Whole Foods' Market. Comprised of an outer shell and an inner pouch, the bottle is made to easily disassemble for recycling. The outer shell pops away from the inner pouch after use and can be recycled up to seven times more or composted. Inside is a thin plastic pouch with a patented re-sealable spout made from #4 LDPE that can be recycled with plastic bags in retailer drop-off bins. The cap is made from #5 PP plastic, which can recycled through the Preserve Gimme5 program. 

Additional environmental benefits come from the product's formulation, which is twice as concentrated as the company's 2X formulation, and is developed to work in cold water, which the company suggests as another way to reduce impacts on the environment from laundering clothes. 

The packaging supplier remarks that plastic HDPE bottles that store many common household cleaners, detergent, milk and juice are seldom recycled. Specifically, Ecologic Brands claims that HDPE bottles are only recycled 29 percent of the time and can take 500 years to decompose in landfill.