Customers can now buy small top-up Cif bottles with diluted cleaning spray fluid, saving them money, plastic and CO2
Unilever has unveiled a "pioneering" new at-home refill system for its Cif cleaning spray bottles, which it claims will slash single-use plastic waste, water-use, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Cif 'ecorefill' product, which is on sale in Sainsbury's ahead of a wider rollout across the UK, is expected to remove the equivalent of 1.5 million plastic bottles from UK supermarkets while also cutting customer costs, the consumer goods giant said.
Made using 75 per cent less plastic compared to typical bottles, the lightweight ecorefill bottle is designed to attach to the top of current Cif cleaning spray bottles, explained Unilever. It then releases 'super-concentrated' cleaner fluid inside the larger bottle which consumers dilute with water at home, thereby reducing the need for customers to repeatedly buy large, full spray bottles.
The ecorefill contains 10x concentrated fluid compared to typical Cif spray bottles, thereby slashing the volume of water transported by 97 per cent, meaning fewer trucks on the road, more shelving space in supermarkets, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and less plastic packaging, Unilever explained.
Ecorefills are also 100 per cent recyclable once the plastic sleeves are removed. Unilever said that by 2020 its aim was to ensure all Cif ecorefills and spray bottles are also made from 100 per cent recycled plastic.
And, as they are smaller and lighter, the ecorefill bottles come with a smaller price tag for customers compared to traditional, larger Cif spray bottles, Unilever said.
The design is now set to be rolled out across Cif Power & Shine and Ultra-Fast ranges by the end of next year.
Gemma Cleland, vice president for homecare at Unilever UK & Ireland, said the new product was a "game-changer" in the war on plastic waste in the home.
"Our research shows that two-thirds of us feel guilty when we throw away plastic and shoppers are looking for easy switches that can have a positive impact on the world around us," she said. "We think there's no better place to start than in the home. By keeping a bottle of Cif and refilling and reusing it over and over again, consumers can reduce their consumption of single use plastic."
The launch forms part of Unilever's pledge to ensure all its plastic packaging worldwide is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.The company has also pledged to increase the amount of recycled plastic content used to make its packaging.
Helen Bird, strategic engagement manager at waste charity WRAP, welcomed Unilever's "novel design" as a means for increasing use of concentrates in order to slash plastic waste. "As a founding member of The UK Plastics Pact it is great to see continuous innovation by Unilever in their commitment to ensure all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025," she said.