(Image: Colgate’s certified vegan toothpaste and its fully recyclable packaging. Credit: @vegantrademark on Twitter)[/caption] Colgate has introduced a new line of toothpaste in Europe called Smile for Good that’s certified vegan and comes in fully recyclable tubes. Brand owner Colgate-Palmolive says it plans to share the recyclable plastic packaging technology with rival companies.
Smile for Good toothpaste, available in “whitening” and “protection” versions, received the Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark, meaning that it doesn’t contain any animal products. As Jasmine Andersson explained on inews.co.uk, toothpaste typically contains glycerin that’s made from mixing animal and vegetable-derived oils. Instead, Colgate uses an alternative bonding ingredient. The toothpaste is not tested on animals, either.
The Vegan Society said that the toothpaste is available at Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Boots, Superdrug, Wilko, Waitrose, Savers, Ocado, and Amazon.
In addition, the Smile for Good toothpaste comes in a tube made from high density polyethylene (HDPE), better known as the No. 2 plastic used for milk jugs and similar plastic bottles. Colgate-Palmolive began shipping these tubes to retailers last November under the Tom’s of Maine brand. It was the first tube recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers, according to the company.
The tube took more than five years to develop, the company said. HDPE had been thought to be too rigid for a squeezable tube, but the plastic has the advantage of being widely recycled. Colgate says that their engineers figured out how to combine different grades and thicknesses of the plastic laminate into a tube that meets recycling standards and “holds up to the demands of high-speed production, all while remaining comfortably squeezable.”
Last fall, Colgate-Palmolive indicated that the company would share details of its technology with others, including information that’s subject to its patent applications filed in the United States and globally.
“We want all toothpaste tubes — and eventually all kinds of tubes — to meet the same third-party recycling standards that we’ve achieved,” said Noel Wallace, chief executive officer and president of Colgate-Palmolive. “We can align on these common standards for tubes and still compete with what’s inside them.”
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