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Category-busting Detergents Lose the Plastic BottleCategory-busting Detergents Lose the Plastic Bottle

A new generation of detergent strips, tiles, and sheets from big brands and start-ups is disrupting plastic packaging in the laundry aisle.

Kate Bertrand Connolly 1, Freelance Writer

July 15, 2024

3 Min Read
Tide/Rick Lingle via Canva

At a Glance

  • Plastic packaging gives way to paperboard for waterless detergent formats.
  • New packaging from Tide, Tru Earth, and Arm & Hammer makes an environmental statement.
  • One promotion gives consumers who make a plastic-free pledge the chance to win $10,000.

As Plastic Free July continues, laundry-detergent product innovations that eliminate plastic packaging are trending, with brand owners ranging from Procter & Gamble (P&G) to Canadian start-up Tru Earth taking part.

These breakthrough products are free of plastics, plastic packaging and water.

In April 2024, P&G launched Tide evo fiber “tiles,” a form of laundry detergent that incorporates six layers of tiny fibers into squares measuring about 2 in by 2 in. The concentrated-detergent tiles activate instantly in water.

For both Tide evo and Tru Earth Laundry Eco-Strips, lightweight, non-plastic packaging is a selling point with consumers.

Tide’s tiles are packaged in Forest Stewardship Council-certified, recyclable paper packaging rather than the plastic bottles and jugs used for P&G’s liquid-detergent and laundry-pod products.

The Tide evo box is 100% paperboard, incorporating an internal divider to organize the rows of tiles. Instructions for use are printed on the inside of the box’s lid, and an interior panel states: “Goodbye plastic bottles. Hello powerful clean.”

In addition to the packaging message, P&G stresses Tide evo’s energy footprint in its marketing communications — the product is produced in a facility powered by renewable energy. Additionally, the tiles are designed for cold-water washing, affording consumers up to 90% energy savings vs. washing in hot water.

Tide evo launched in Colorado, and P&G is now rolling out the product nationwide. The waterless product is the result of more than 10 years of research and development.

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Promotion discourages plastic and plastic waste.

Tru Earth announced a challenge on July 1 aimed at firing up consumers to act against plastic pollution. Participants in the Tru Earth Challenge are asked to make a plastic-free pledge, and they get the chance to win $10,000 or a one-year supply of Tru Earth Laundry Eco-Strips. The challenge runs through July.

Tru Earth Laundry Eco-Strips are thin, pre-measured sheets that come in a recyclable paperboard packet. Each pack holds 32 ultra-concentrated strips.

Reducing the use of single-use plastic, particularly for household cleaning products, is central to the five-year-old company’s mission. Based in British Columbia, Tru Earth is a Certified B Corp.

"Plastic Free July is the perfect time to come together to motivate people to reduce single-use plastic from their lives and learn how Tru Earth products can help make that transition easier at home," says Wade Crouch, Tru Earth’s director of brand marketing, in the challenge announcement.

Tru Earth estimates it has eliminated 185,791,997 single-use plastic containers to date by using paperboard packaging for its laundry eco-strips.

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The unconventional Tide and Tru Earth product formats and packaging continue the direction set by Church & Dwight in July 2023, when that company launched Arm & Hammer Power Sheets Laundry Detergent in a recyclable paperboard box.

Arm & Hammer was the first major brand to break into the detergent-sheets category and, like other waterless detergents, emphasizes its non-plastic packaging. The front panel of the Power Sheets box states: “Leave the mess and plastic bottles behind!”

The box, which holds 50 Power Sheets that can wash up to 100 loads, is 85% lighter than the 50-load bottle for Arm & Hammer concentrated liquid detergent, the brand owner reports.

Arm & Hammer was a breakthrough, and with the two plastic-free launches that followed signal a growing trend that plastic packaging providers in laundry and other categories need to get on their radar.

About the Author

Kate Bertrand Connolly 1

Freelance Writer

Kate Bertrand Connolly has been covering innovations, trends, and technologies in packaging, branding, and business since 1981.

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