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Baby product company Huggies promises to minimize plastic from some of its products.
The company’s strategy primarily involves eliminating plastic from its baby wipes sold in the United Kingdom. According to Huggies, in five years, nearly 1,600 tonnes of plastic will be taken off the UK market once plastic is removed from the wipes.
In particular, the company aims to clear away 17 tonnes of plastic annually by making its Huggies Extra Care wipes more eco-friendly. Huggies will also remove excess packaging from multipack wipes and indicate plastic content on its packaging for consumer awareness.
According to a study commissioned by Huggies, a daily average of 24 baby wipes is used by 85% of UK parents. This results in almost 9,000 baby wipes that cannot be recycled and can clog toilets. However, among the research respondents, only a little over a third wanted the wipes they use to be more eco-friendly.
Huggies, which is owned by personal care company Kimberly-Clark, became part of the UK Plastics Pact in 2018. The pact is a sustainability initiative among different companies, governments, and organizations to solve the United Kingdom’s problem with plastic waste. As signatories, they promise to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic packaging by 2025.
Even as Huggies works to minimize plastic from its products, it is implementing other ways to solve the problem of plastic waste. These include putting tips for customers on its website on how to avoid plastic waste and working to develop completely eco-friendly products that will supplant its current wipes. In five years, the company also plans to launch 100% recyclable packaging for all its products.