Unilever #QuitSachets

Unilever wants to be a global sustainability leader but it has a typical corporate mindset on what that means - business as usual with green sprinkles on top, especially when it comes to sachets.

Despite being among the top 3 plastic polluters in the world, Unilever has used sustainability for its market positioning and claims to be planet and society-conscious. Yet their actions reflect how little they are doing in reality.

Read the Open Letter

Unilever has made commitments and set sustainability goals with UNEP and Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and as a member of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty to ensure that all its plastic packaging would be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. It has just 3 years to meet its own targets, but without quitting sachets, Unilever is unlikely to be able to meet this commitment. By eliminating sachets, Unilever can set high industry standards, and advance its vision to be a sustainability leader. With the #QuitSachets campaign, we want to dismantle their hype and redefine their ‘possible’ by setting a clear, high bar of what actual leadership looks like.

Media Briefing

Unilever Uncovered: Debunking Myths & Misinformation on Sachets

On 26th July 2023, #BreakFreeFromPlastic invited journalists and other media personnel from Asia-Pacific to join the online panel discussion on Unilever’s typical delay-derail-distract tactics, and to shape the public discourse on the need for fast-moving consumer goods companies (FMCGs) to #QuitSachets to prioritise people and planet over profits.

Access the Press ReleaseWatch the Recording

What Unilever (and other FMCGs) can do

Publicly disclose its plans to reduce plastic pollution, and eliminate sachets across their product lines. People living with the impact of these products - from consumers to waste pickers, have a right to know about the scale at which companies are producing sachets and their detailed plans for addressing the issues and finding alternatives.

Stop hiding behind polluting and climate-wrecking false solutions like cement kilns and incinerators. Burning sachets and other plastic packaging—even if it generates fuel or electricity—isn’t recycling.

Support governments and communities while scaling up true alternatives like reuse and refill, and incentivise return policies that enable a just transition for solutions that are truly good for both people and the planet.

UNILEVER X-FILES

"The truth is out there, but so are lies."

This is especially true of plastic sachets - single-use, small-format, flexible pouches - that perpetuate waste colonialism by causing harm to communities and the environment.

The Unilever X-Files expose the failed projects and false promises peddled by this giant corporation, instead of phasing out sachets. 

Download the Unilever X-Files: Planet, Society & Sachets.

Download materials to create your own buzz on social media!

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKIT

Be the first mover Unilever, #QuitSachets!

The term ‘circular economy’ touted by corporations is problematic - plastics are not circular in nature because they cannot be recycled safely, effectively or indefinitely. It would take less time and investment to phase out all single-use, unnecessary and problematic plastics, and it is time for corporations like Unilever to move toward that goal. 

It is imperative that Unilever and other FMCGs commit to phasing out sachets to address the plastic crisis.

© 2023 Break Free From Plastic. All right reserved.