Colgate-Palmolive launches hand soap tablets and refillable aluminum bottle for Softsoap range

14 Jul 2021 --- Colgate-Palmolive’s hand soap brand Softsoap is reducing plastic waste with the launch of Foaming Hand Soap Tablets and a refillable, recyclable aluminum bottle. 

The kit uses 71 percent less plastic than a traditional foaming plastic soap bottle, according to the company.

Consumers can fill the recyclable aluminum bottle with water, drop in a tablet and wait for it to fizz up and turn into foaming hand soap. 

“As a brand found in 53 million North American households, Softsoap wants to make sustainability a household habit,” says Emily Fong Mitchell, general manager, North America personal care at Colgate-Palmolive. 

Refill tablets
The move is touted as “the first refill option in tablet form to be offered by a major brand in the US.”

“The launch of Softsoap Foaming Tablets is a step toward building a more sustainable, healthier future for all. Given our reach, we understand the impact of this step on the entire industry. We are the first major CPG brand to offer a refill option in tablet form.”

By using the Softsoap Foaming Tablets Refill Kits, consumers ultimately use 92 percent less plastic than traditional hand soap refills, the company notes.Softsoap’s Foaming Tablets Refill Kit uses 71 percent less plastic than a traditional foaming plastic soap bottle.

In 2020 alone, more than 455 million plastic liquid hand soap pump bottles were sold. If every consumer switched to Softsoap Foaming Tablets Starter Kits, they would save more than 150 million plastic pump bottles of soap from entering landfills, Softsoap says.

While traditional hand soap refills tend to be heavy and cumbersome, this new format helps alleviate the often messy process of refilling hand soap.

Furthermore, the format maintains the attributes the brand is known for, such as a formulation that lathers into a rich foam. 

The tablets are available in refreshing scents, including Sparkling Lavender, Lemon Fizz and Fresh Coconut. The products also feature biodegradable cleansing ingredients.

Colgate-Palmolive’s eco goals
This launch aligns with Colgate-Palmolive’s Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy, which aims to eliminate one-third of new plastics as it transitions to 100 percent recyclable, reusable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025. 

As part of this strategy, Softsoap plans to move all pump bottles to 100 percent post-consumer recycled packaging by the end of 2022.

The launch follows the introduction of the Colgate Keep manual toothbrush with an aluminum handle and replaceable head for 80 percent less plastic waste.

Moreover, it builds on the release of Colgates’ recyclable toothpaste tube, recognized as the first recyclable toothpaste tube by the Association of Plastic Recyclers.

PackagingInsights previously interviewed Jun Wang, packaging innovation and global design at Colgate-Palmolive Company Technology Center, to discuss the tube innovation. 

The recyclable toothpaste tube is made from the same plastic used to make bottles, so it recycles like a bottle but squeezes easily like a tube. Colgate-Palmolive began its EU switch to the “first-of-its-kind” tube last year.

By Kristiana Lalou