Seventh Generation Is Phasing Out Big Plastic Laundry Jugs. But Consumers May Prove Hard to Sway

Cleaning brand Seventh Generation wants to scrap the decades-old large plastic jug packaging by 2030 in an effort to cut back on plastic packaging. The brand is offering a more concentrated liquid soap in a smaller plastic bottle, instead of the big plastic jugs, which has a cap that stops liquid after one dose of soap. The brand has run a campaign that points out the inconvenience of the larger jugs, which is not only a larger amount of plastic but also require more emissions to transport. Instead of the big plastic jugs, the brand is offering a more concentrated liquid soap in a smaller plastic bottle with a cap that stops the liquid from dispensing more than one dose at a time. Seventh Generation has run a campaign that points out the inconvenience of the larger jugs—they're not only more plastic, but heavier, requiring more emissions to transport. "You can't just design the packaging, you have to design the whole system to be a better experience for the consumer," Bridget Croke, managing director at investment firm Closed Loop Partners, explained. "They [must] want to do something different, rather than feel put upon." Laundry Pods and Sheets Are Exploding in Popularity. But Are They Safe? While pre-measured forms of laundry soap like pods, sheets and tablets are gaining market share, an Adweek-Morning Consult poll from October showed 82% of Americans used liquid in the last year. Compared to 47% who used pods and 22% using powder, just 11% and 9% used sheets and tablets, respectively. Ultimately, 78% said that the environment is a consideration when choosing which format to use. Getting off plastics For Seventh Generation, the point isn't just to make the most sustainable soap bottle ever, according to chief marketing officer John Moorhead. It's to bring the bulk of American consumers along as the company shifts toward better packaging. How do you make the transition as easy as possible? What’s something you can do to eliminate the switching costs?Neeru Paharia, marketing professor, Arizona State University Seventh Generation's packaging goals focus on "better, less, no plastic." That means getting off fossil fuel-based plastics first, Moorhead explained, and shifting everything to 100% recycled and recyclable. The eventual goal is to cut plastics out of packaging completely, but the company doesn't have a deadline for that yet. "The immense opportunity here is to get rid of these big jugs," John Moorhead, Seventh Generation chief marketing officer, told Adweek via Zoom. "Because if we can't get rid of this," he explained, holding up a large plastic jug of detergent, "getting off of plastic is going to be very difficult." The digital campaign launched over Thanksgiving highlighted the inconvenience of big jugs, such as being heavy to carry. New creative, developed by agency Opinionated, is running on platforms including the Food Network, HGTV, Good Housekeeping, CBS and US Weekly. Seventh Generation worked with agency Opinionated to develop the creative. Eliminating switching costs And while successful advertising aims to impact consumer behavior, convincing people to break from the familiar is no small task. While some are motivated to try a new product based on its eco-friendly merits alone, that's a small subset of consumers, said Neeru Paharia, marketing professor at Arizona State University who researches how to motivate consumers to choose more sustainable options. For the bulk of consumers, it's important to think about how switching costs fit into a broader equation of convenience, habit and familiarity, Paharia explained. "Even though this might be better, there are still switching costs," she said. "How do you make the transition as easy as possible? What's something you can do to eliminate the switching costs?" Seventh Generation's campaign is focused primarily on the convenience factor of the smaller, more concentrated format. But as a secondary benefit, the creative points out how much more waste is created by the larger plastic bottles. The smaller bottles use 60% less plastic than a 100-ounce large format bottle, according to the brand's 2022 sustainability report, and they're 75% lighter. Can Fast Food Survive Without Single-Use Plastics? "People do not walk down the laundry aisle excited for a change," Moorhead acknowledged. It requires a "mind-frame shift, which is the complete objective" of the campaign. Retaining recyclability Both the big jug, made of HDPE, and the new smaller format PET bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic. And both have an equally high value on the recycling market. "Both of them are the gold standard," said Steve Alexander, president and CEO of the Association of Plastic Recyclers. The bigger problem is ensuring all those containers get collected and sorted so they can find their way to recyclers, he noted. But that's a recycling access issue rather than a recyclability issue. "Those two containers are actually examples of the best containers for recyclability," Alexander said.