24 Jun 2022 - Unilever has worked to derail and circumvent legislation limiting the use of single-use plastic sachets in developing nations, despite publicly decrying their harm to the environment and pledging a complete phase-out, according to a recent Reuters investigation.
Over two years ago, the multinational’s CEO Alan Jope conceded multilayered single-use sachets are impossible to recycle mechanically and declared “we have to get rid of them.” Another Unilever official branded the packaging design “evil,” while the firm’s spokespeople promised that refill systems, product redesign, and advanced recycling methods would see the end of sachet use altogether.
However, the investigators found that in at least three countries – Sri Lanka, the Philippines and India – Unilever has campaigned against national legislation restricting sachet use, sidestepped new policy measures with labeling ploys, and lobbied senators to drop the sachet bans its marketing arm claims to promote.
With 58% of Unilever’s approximately US$55 billion revenue coming from emerging markets, campaigners accuse the corporation of exploiting impoverished communities where domestic cash flow is low, and consumers become dependent on daily purchases of small quantities of basic products with a far higher markup than in other formats.
This model not only imposes the highest prices on the poorest consumers but floods the market with waste material that local governments cannot handle, polluting the environment and killing wildlife.
Unilever’s response
In a statement to PackagingInsights, a Unilever Spokesperson responded to the investigation, saying: “We are working hard to address this challenge by phasing out multilayer sachets, which are difficult to recycle, and replacing them with recyclable alternatives, such as monomaterial sachets.”
"Alongside these efforts, we continue to explore different reusable and refillable packaging systems to enable our low-income consumers to access our products at a price point they can afford.”
This response echoes the sentiments made by the company over the past two years. Still, Reuters, along with organizations like the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), accuses the corporation of using pilot-scale refill schemes to greenwash the continued use of unrecyclable sachets. Packaging Insights - link - Louis Gore-Langton - link - picture from Earth.Org - link - more like this (plastic pollution) - link - Unilever - business as usual - link - more like this (South Asia) - link
However, the investigators found that in at least three countries – Sri Lanka, the Philippines and India – Unilever has campaigned against national legislation restricting sachet use, sidestepped new policy measures with labeling ploys, and lobbied senators to drop the sachet bans its marketing arm claims to promote.
With 58% of Unilever’s approximately US$55 billion revenue coming from emerging markets, campaigners accuse the corporation of exploiting impoverished communities where domestic cash flow is low, and consumers become dependent on daily purchases of small quantities of basic products with a far higher markup than in other formats.
This model not only imposes the highest prices on the poorest consumers but floods the market with waste material that local governments cannot handle, polluting the environment and killing wildlife.
Unilever’s response
In a statement to PackagingInsights, a Unilever Spokesperson responded to the investigation, saying: “We are working hard to address this challenge by phasing out multilayer sachets, which are difficult to recycle, and replacing them with recyclable alternatives, such as monomaterial sachets.”
"Alongside these efforts, we continue to explore different reusable and refillable packaging systems to enable our low-income consumers to access our products at a price point they can afford.”
This response echoes the sentiments made by the company over the past two years. Still, Reuters, along with organizations like the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), accuses the corporation of using pilot-scale refill schemes to greenwash the continued use of unrecyclable sachets. Packaging Insights - link - Louis Gore-Langton - link - picture from Earth.Org - link - more like this (plastic pollution) - link - Unilever - business as usual - link - more like this (South Asia) - link
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