Marketing and Comms
Gillette Reveals Men’s Feelings on Sustainability in 2020, Brand Goals for 2030

Today, Gillette released new data revealing that more than half of men globally (59 percent) are more engaged in sustainability efforts as a result of COVID-19.

“Gillette’s mission is to provide men with the best possible grooming products in a way that also protects the future of the world around us,” said Alessandra Dolfini, Global SVP at Gillette. “The new data reveals that this unprecedented time has deepened men’s commitment to preserving the planet for the next generation — and through Gillette’s ongoing sustainability journey, we hope to make a positive difference today, tomorrow and long into the future.”

Gillette has long positioned itself as a brand that understands and empowers men — as exemplified by its long-running tagline, “The best a man can get.” The brand faced widespread backlash in 2019, however, when its “We Believe” ad called out a range of negative behaviors associated with toxic masculinity and asked, “Is this the best a man can get?”

But who remembers that in a year like this? Once again, COVID proves to be a great unifier — apparently helping to shift men’s attitudes around the value of preserving our resources for the future.

The global survey, conducted in 11 countries, revealed that more than half (54 percent) of men aged 18-50 care about sustainability now more than ever — with leading drivers being long-term considerations:

• Most consider sustainability to be more important to future generations (66 percent) rather than people today (34 percent), their own personal future (64 percent) rather than their life right now (36 percent), and the global economy (69 percent) rather than their community’s businesses (31 percent).

• Men prioritize advancing environmental issues with more visible outcomes — including access to clean water, ocean conservation, recycling and wildlife protection; over less tangible challenges, such as reducing carbon footprints and supply chain efficiency. In addition, more than half of men (58 percent) say plastic waste in the environment is a very important issue to them.

Additionally, the survey revealed that 95 percent of men have made at least one sustainable lifestyle change in the past five years — including adopting reusable bags, recycling and composting regularly, and reusing products. Since the start of COVID-19, men have focused most on reducing food waste. The survey showed that men are most likely to take sustainable actions because it feels like they are doing the right thing (50 percen fot), followed by a need to set a good example for others (41 percent).

Read more results from the survey here.

Also today, Gillette — whose sustainability efforts are summed up by the tagline, “Bringing out the best in the world around us,” also announced its 2030 sustainability action plan.

As part of Gillette’s Sustainability Goals, the company expects 100 percent of packaging to be recyclable by 2030 with siginificant progress made in 2023. Gillette plans to roll out new products with 100 percent recyclable packaging and use PCR in its razor handles and packaging within the coming year.

Gillette also committed to new goals on finding energy, water and material use efficiencies through the entire lifecycle of products — all while continuing to offer built-to-last products made with safe materials and ingredients. Gillette’s Sustainability 2030 Goals include:

• Use 100 percent renewable electricity

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions for manufacturing by 50 percent

• Reduce water consumption per production by 35 percent and reduce absolute virgin plastic by 50 percent

• Provide 100 percent transparency about its ingredients

• Responsibly source animal-, plant- and mineral-derived materials, backed by supporting credentials (e.g. FSC)

• Maintain zero waste to landfill status across its global network of plants

• Use 100 percent recyclable packaging by 2030 with significant progress made by 2023. In Addition, the company will increase post-consumer recycled content in its offerings

• Inspire men to feel empowered and confident in all aspects of their lives, and continually work to drive change so that all men can look, feel and be their best.

Gillette also shared an update on its environmental progress over the past decade — including reducing energy use across its operations (enough to power 17 million homes) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent. In 2019, Gillette also launched the world’s first national razor recycling program in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand in partnership with TerraCycle, providing consumers a way to recycle any brand of used razor handle, blade or packaging.

Read more about Gillette’s Sustainability 2030 goals and its progress to date here.