Removing “invisible layer” promises to save 15 tonnes a year of plastic: Kimberly-Clark 

Personal care product manufacturer Kimberly-Clark Australia says a new packaging approach is delivering promising early results, and could see 15 tonnes of plastic removed annually from supply chains nationally.

According to a statement from K-CA on Monday, the trial with with supermarket chain Woolworths began in mid-September, following “over a year in development and testing”. It involves VIVA paper towels being packed directly onto pallets for Woolworths, without the commonly-used secondary packaging or “bundling” used for transportation.

K-CA said the trial was seeing “preliminary success”, saving time for stock replenishment and plastic disposal, and both parties have agreed to continue with the new bundling-free approach.

“Removing an ‘invisible’ layer of packaging might not sound like a major achievement, but it represents a significant change to the way products have been manufactured and distributed across Australia for many years – and it’s taken a great deal of problem-solving and persistence to deliver these savings,” said Adam Carpenter, Mill Manager at Kimberly-Clark Australia. 

“Rethinking our approach to packaging – and how things have always been done – was instrumental to the success of this project, and now we’ve shown what’s possible, we’ll be looking at other opportunities to roll this out further. We’re looking forward to future collaborations with our customers, including Woolworths, that help reduce plastic waste in Australia.” 

K-CA is the local subsidiary of global personal care business Kimberly-Clark, and has been operating in ANZ since 1926. Most of its approximately 700 staff are employed at the Millicent, South Australia mill, which makes Kleenex and Scott toilet and facial tissue, and VIVA and Scott paper towel products.

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