All Perwoll bottles in Western Europe with 25 percent recycled plastic

Together with packaging manufacturer ALPLA, Henkel has achieved a further step in its activities in the field of sustainable packaging: From now on Perwoll bottles in Western Europe will not only be fully recyclable, but also contain 25 percent recycled PE (polyethylene) from post-consumer sources as standard.

“With the introduction of bottles made of 25 percent recycled plastic for the Perwoll brand, we converted our largest Laundry & Home Care category utilizing PE bottles to use recycled plastic,” says Vineet Varman, Head of International Packaging Development for Special Detergents at Henkel.

Henkel’s packaging and supply chain team was able to integrate a significant share of recycled PE in the full range of Perwoll bottles in the Western European market – while at the same time retaining their unique color and ensuring high aesthetic standards, without making any compromises on the performance or fragrance of the premium product.

“This is a great achievement – and a starting point to move further: We are already working on expanding the usage this recycled material also in other categories,” says Vineet Varman. “While availability of high-quality recycled PE material from post-consumer waste is still limited, we are proud that we, together with our partners, successfully developed a recycling stream for it.”

“The use of recycling material makes this bottle a particularly sustainable, CO₂-saving packaging solution – also because we have been manufacturing the bottles in-house, which reduces transportation and repackaging to zero. We appreciate working with customers like Henkel, who challenge us and contribute to the functioning of a circular economy,” says Nicolas Lehner, CCO ALPLA Group.

Black Perwoll bottle – fully recyclable, with recycled plastic

For the black bottle of Perwoll’s “Renew & Repair” variant, Henkel announces an additional milestone: In line with its commitment to introduce recyclable black packaging, the company has already started converting its black Perwoll bottles to a new packaging material which uses an alternative carbon-free color, through which bottles become recyclable and thus can be integrated back into the value chain. Now, these black bottles are not only recyclable but also contain 25 percent recycled PE.

Driving progress towards a circular economy

The introduction of bottles with 25 percent recycled plastic for its full Perwoll range in Western Europe is yet another example of Henkel’s activities and progress in the field of plastic packaging. The company pursues ambitious packaging targets, is engaged in various partnerships along the entire value chain and participates in many cross-industry initiatives. For example, the company is a member of the global Alliance to End Plastic Waste ‏(AEPW) and the New Plastics Economy ‏(NPEC), and partner of social enterprise Plastic Bank.

To learn more about Henkel’s strategy and activities in the field of packaging and plastic, visit www.henkel.com/plastic.