Replenish Bottling, creator of the Replenish Refill System™, has launched a new product line that could change the way many water-based consumer products are designed, manufactured and sold.
Using Replenish’s patented Refill System, the CleanPath line of products allows consumers to mix concentrates with water at home using a reusable bottle, thereby eliminating carbon emissions and plastic waste by over 80 percent.
The Replenish packaging technology can be found in a new line of concentrate household cleaning and personal care items sold under the CleanPath brand exclusively on the shelves of 2,000 Walmart stores, in 200 Sam’s Clubs and on Walmart.com.
Many consumer products contain 90 percent water and a small amount of active ingredients, resulting in higher distribution costs and retail prices as well as unnecessary environmental consequences.
Over two years, Replenish worked with senior retail executives, leading private label manufacturer Vi-Jon Laboratories and plastic bottle manufacturing firm Berry Plastics, to address a variety of technical and merchandising challenges. This resulted in the creation of five CleanPath products: Multi-Surface Cleaner, Bathroom Cleaner, Glass Cleaner, Foaming Hand Soap and Foaming Hand Sanitizer.
In January, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), the nonprofit trade association representing over 120 companies in the US cleaning products industry — including BASF, Clorox, Dow, Novozymes, Method, Seventh Generation, Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever — launched an initiative to promote and demonstrate continual improvement in the cleaning products industry’s sustainability profile. The Charter for Sustainable Cleaning requires companies to have systems in place for continual assessment, review and improvement of sustainability performance, including raw material selection, resource use and occupational health and safety, at every important stage of the product lifecycle.
Earlier this year, Walmart informed dozens of product manufacturers throughout its supply chain that it is now implementing its policy to phase out hazardous chemicals from its consumer products. The Policy on Sustainable Chemistry in Consumables provides a description of what it calls "priority chemicals" — substances with certain hazardous properties that can affect human health, and/or the environment. The policy defines these as chemicals that meets the criteria for classification as a carcinogen, mutagen, reproductive toxicant, or is persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic; or any chemical for which there is “scientific evidence of probable serious effects to human health or the environment.”
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Nov 11, 2014 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET