Systematic rethink about plastic usage

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) recently launched the Smart Fill machine – an in-store vending model for its home care products to reuse, reduce and recycle plastic. In the pilot phase, the vending machine was installed at Reliance Smart Acme Mall in Mumbai. This initiative offers consumers an option to reuse plastic bottles by refilling HUL’s home care products like Surf Excel, Comfort, and Vim through this Smart Fill machine.

To access products from the Smart Fill machine, consumers can either use old empty bottles or purchase a Smart Fill bottle from the store at a nominal price. As an incentive, consumers are being offered Rs 30 off on the MRP or effective price at the store if they get their bottle and Rs 15 off to those who purchase the Smart Fill bottle. The flagship brands that consumers can avail of these benefits include Surf excel liquid for Top Load and Front Load washing machines, Comfort Fabric Conditioner, and Vim Dishwash Liquid Gel. 

Speaking about the initiative, Prabha Narasimhan, executive director (home care) for Hindustan Unilever and vice president (home care) for Unilever South Asia, said, “As a responsible corporate, HUL has always endeavored to find comprehensive solutions that include systemic rethinking about plastic usage. Through this initiative, we wish to bring about a positive change in our society and make continuous progress towards a circular economy. The launch of the Smart Fill vending machine is yet another step to address one of the managing plastic packaging waste challenges. We hope this innovation will bring awareness and give consumers an opportunity to contribute effectively to managing plastic waste.”

Hindustan Unilever’s three-pronged consumer-centric approach of ‘ Reuse, Refill, and Reward’ is to build mass public awareness that changes the way plastic is viewed, used, and managed. In addition, HUL aims to use learnings from this pilot project to create a scalable refill business model in partnership with prominent retailers and modern trade outlets.

Hindustan Unilever said it recognizes the need to operate as a socially responsible company. It has committed to ensuring that 100% of its plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. It has further committed to halving the use of virgin plastic by reducing the absolute use of plastic packaging and accelerating the use of recycled plastic. It is also committed to collecting and processing more plastic packaging waste than the plastic used in our product packaging. 

“We will also enable the collection and processing of over 1 lakh tons of post-consumer plastic waste through our partners across the country,” the company said. 

The Covid-19 pandemic led to the country-wide lockdown on 25 March 2020. It will be two years tomorrow as I write this. What have we learned in this time? Maybe the meaning of resilience since small companies like us have had to rely on our resources and the forbearance of our employees as we have struggled to produce our trade platforms.

The print and packaging industries have been fortunate, although the commercial printing industry is still to recover. We have learned more about the digital transformation that affects commercial printing and packaging. Ultimately digital will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future.

Web analytics show that we now have readership in North America and Europe amongst the 90 countries where our five platforms reach. Our traffic which more than doubled in 2020, has at times gone up by another 50% in 2021. And advertising which had fallen to pieces in 2020 and 2021, has started its return since January 2022.

As the economy approaches real growth with unevenness and shortages a given, we are looking forward to the PrintPack India exhibition in Greater Noida. We are again appointed to produce the Show Daily on all five days of the show from 26 to 30 May 2022.

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