RACINE, Wis., May 7, 2019 – One million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute of each day1. As an early champion of concentrate products nearly a decade ago, SC Johnson is continuing to address the plastic waste crisis by expanding and widening access to its concentrate offerings.
“Plastic waste is becoming a bigger and bigger environmental problem,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “We hope more people can give concentrates a try as every single time you use a concentrate bottle you use nearly 80% less plastic waste.”
Since the unveiling of Windex® concentrates in 2011, SC Johnson has steadily expanded its refill options to other popular cleaning brands, including Pledge®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Shout® and fantastik®.
The new line of SC Johnson concentrates will begin rolling out in the U.S. and Canada this month, with Scrubbing Bubbles®, Windex® and fantastik® bottles and two-count refills set to hit Amazon and other e-commerce retailers – including Target and Walmart websites – first. The next wave of concentrate refills – including Scrubbing Bubbles®, Windex® and Mr Muscle® – will be available for purchase online in Mexico this July, and in the United Kingdom starting in August. China and Japan will follow in September.
Benefits of Concentrates
Beyond ease of use, the benefits of concentrate refills are primarily environmental. SC Johnson trigger bottles, for example, deliver more than 10,000 sprays and can be refilled dozens of times. By purchasing bottles with such a long lifespan, millions of pounds of plastic waste are stopped from ending up in landfills.
Concentrate refills are an easy choice for everyday cleaning. Consumers simply combine one bottle of concentrate with regular tap water in a reusable trigger bottle. A handy label helps identify what’s in the bottle for future use.
“Refilling with a concentrate is a small change that could make a real difference in minimizing plastic waste,” Johnson said. “Together, we can reduce plastic waste and work towards a cleaner planet.”
Commitment to Reducing Waste
The company continues to take leaps forward in waste reduction and is dedicated to the circularity of its products. For example, SC Johnson Windex® bottles have been made with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic since 2015 and this Spring the company introduced the first-ever 100% recycled ocean plastic bottle from a major home cleaning brand with its Windex® Vinegar line. Plans are underway to launch a 100% Social Plastic® Windex® bottle with partner Plastic Bank by fall of 2019; the bottle is designed to help the environment and address poverty at the same time.
Five Southeast Asian countries – China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand – accounted for up to 60%of the plastic waste leaking into the ocean, according to a 2015 report by the Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment. Efforts to improve recycling infrastructures in this part of the world are paramount. By raising collection rates to an average of roughly 80% across these five countries, plastic-waste leakage into the ocean would be reduced by almost 25%.
To help address this, SC Johnson has partnered with Plastic Bank and opened nine collection centers in Indonesia with plans for expansion. Through this program, the company has created recycling programs as part of the solution to minimizing plastic waste and addressing poverty. The program is transforming lives by providing social and economic benefits in exchange for recycling used or collected plastic waste. It is designed to educate on recycling and get people to live with and use plastic responsibly.
For more information on SC Johnson’s commitment to addressing plastic pollution, visit www.scjohnson.com/plastic
SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR MUSCLE® and RIDSECT®. The 133-year-old company, which generates $10 billion in sales, employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com
1 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/28/a-million-a-minute-worlds-plastic-bottle-binge-as-dangerous-as-climate-change
