Dr. Bronner’s reduces plastic usage in new soap refill cartons

Dr. Bronner’s, a Vista, California-based natural soap manufacturer, has launched a new 32-ounce soap refill carton package for its Pure-Castile liquid soap.

Now available in multiple retailers across the United States, the refill cartons can be used to refill existing bottles or other containers for personal care and home cleaning use. By purchasing a 32-ounce Pure-Castile liquid soap refill carton, the company says customers will reduce their plastic use by 82 percent compared to its 32-ounce postconsumer resin (PCR) plastic bottles.

Dr. Bronner’s says that because of the product’s versatility, customers can further reduce their packaging use by refilling foaming hand soap bottles, all-purpose spray bottles and more. The refill carton is part of the company’s ongoing effort to reduce its plastic use and production.

“We created our Pure-Castile liquid soap refill carton to reduce the number of plastic bottles we put into the world,” CEO David Bronner says. “Ideally, the recycling rate for plastic bottles in this country would be close to 100 percent. Unfortunately, the rate is closer to 30 percent, and disposal of plastic packaging in landfills is not sustainable.

"We commissioned a lifecycle analysis looking at what packaging material was most ecological to package our refill offering in: paper carton, aluminum, glass or plastic. The paper carton performed the best on every relevant ecological impact measure even when accounting for the recycling rates of each material, nationally.”

Prior to developing the refill carton, the company engaged with Mason, Ohio-based EcoImpact-Compass to conduct a lifecycle analysis to determine the most ecological packaging for a refill offering, and discovered the paper carton, even if sent to a landfill, had the lowest packaging environmental impact compared to popular refill options in aluminum and glass.

The company says its new refill carton is made from 69 percent Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper, 5 percent aluminum and 26 percent polyethylene with a polypropylene cap. Typical carton packaging for juice or plant-based milks have an interior wax lining, but soap deteriorates the lining. To address this, the carton has a thin interior plastic lining, which the company says greatly reduces the total amount of plastic needed to contain the soap. Dr. Bronner’s is working to achieve over 90 percent plastic reduction for the refill cartons within the next year.

“Dr. Bronner’s and our customers are very eco-conscious. We seek to ‘treat the earth like home’ in all we do,” company President Michael Bronner says. “For years, our customers have been asking us to package our soap with less plastic. This new packaging is a crucial step in addressing our plastic use as a company. About 15 years ago, we were among the first adopters of 100 percent PCR plastic bottles for liquid soaps, and now are taking the next step by improving our packaging with this soap refill carton option. It is imperative that we reduce our collective use of plastic on earth.”

The Pure-Castile liquid soaps remain available in PCR plastic bottles in various sizes.