Brand announces 2030 Ambition goals centered around people and planet, supporting mission for every load of laundry to do a load of good
CINCINNATI– Tide is reinventing clean on its journey to decarbonize laundry at every step– from design, manufacturing and distribution to consumer use and end of life.To make this goal a reality, the brand will focus on key areas.In 2020,Tide reduced absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its direct manufacturing by more than 75% annually versus a decade ago and has set a new goal to cut GHG emissions in half at its direct manufacturing plants by 2030.
With over two-thirds of all GHG emissions in the laundry lifecycle resulting from the consumer use phase, Tide is focusing its efforts on minimizing energy use in the wash cycle. To this end,Tide is launching a significant educational campaign in spring 2021 to convince North American consumers to shift to cold water washing. The goal for three out of four loads of laundry in the United States and Canada to be washed in cold instead of hot by 2030 has the potential to reduce GHG emissions by 4.25 million metric tons (MT), which is equal to removing about one million cars from the road for a year. Over the decade (2020-2030), the total impact of this action would be a cumulative 27 million MT reduction in CO2.
Also, within the decade the brand will expand its Tide Loads of Hope program tenfold, providing clean clothes to millions of people in times of need, with a focus on communities most impacted by climate change as natural disasters continue to worsen.
Tide’s Ambition announcement builds on parent company Procter & Gamble’s own Ambition and stated path to climate neutrality, predicated on the belief that the next decade represents a critical window to accelerate climate action, with no time to waste.
“The climate emergency we face needs urgent action from everyone. Today, Tide announces a series of goals to decrease its carbon footprint across its full value chain” said Shailesh Jejurikar, Chief Executive Officer, Fabric and Home Care, Procter & Gamble. “Tide’s ambition is to make cold water washing the industry standard. Over two thirds of the emissions in the laundry lifecycle come from washing clothes at home. Switching from hot to cold water reduces energy use by up to 90% and can save Americans up to $150 a year. Today we’re building on Tide’s 75 years of innovation to make every Tide load of laundry do a load of good.”
Better for Planet
Tide’s journey to decarbonize laundry includes a goal to reduce GHG emissions across the entire laundry lifecycle.
Today, Tide manufacturing plants use 100% renewable electricity. Tide will advance its GHG emissions reduction goal through a pilot development project with Opus12, a Silicon Valley start-up at the forefront of carbon transformation, to explore the company’s carbon capture and utilization technology to incorporate CO2 MadeTM ingredients in the manufacturing of Tide.
Tide will also zero in on an ambitious long-term mission to make cold water washing the industry standard in the U.S. and Canada, compared to today’s baseline, which sees on average less than half of laundry loads washed on cold. Switching from hot to cold water reduces energy use in the wash phase by up to 90% and can save U.S. consumers up to $150 a year.
“Ensuring a sustainable world for future generations requires leading brands to take a comprehensive approach to reducing their environmental impact while also taking action that goes beyond their own footprint,” said Sheila Bonini, SVP of Private Sector Engagement World Wildlife Fund. “Brands have a unique opportunity to collaborate and communicate with millions of consumers at home to help educate and motivate people to make simple changes that add up to meaningful change for our planet.”
Behavior change at this scale will require significant investment, as well as collaboration across the industry. To advance that goal, Tide will launch a “turn to cold water” consumer education campaign in the coming weeks, showing that the bargain brand in hot can’t beat Tide in cold2 and educating consumers on how cold water wash saves money and energy.
To advance this campaign, Tide is kicking off a multi-year partnership with the Hanes apparel brand. Hanes will feature a “wash in cold” call-to-action, along with Tide PODS samples and coupons, on packaging to help communicate that consumers can get a superior clean in cold with Tide – even when washing underwear, T-shirts and socks.
“As a company, we’re deeply committed to sustainability, and are pursuing ambitious goals that will improve the lives of people, protect the planet and produce sustainable products,” said Joe Cavaliere, HanesBrands’ group president, global innerwear. “We’re proud to have our Hanes brand partner with Tide. Together, we will reach billions of consumers to drive a simple, positive change that will make a significant difference in the environment we all share.”
Other actions to reduce the brand’s overall carbon footprint by 2030 include reducing use of virgin plastic in packaging by half (vs. 2020 baseline), through light weighting, exploring innovative packaging solutions like Eco-Box, and increasing use of post-consumer recycled content. Currently, Tide bottles use at least 25% post-consumer recycled content. At the same time, Tide has pledged 100% recyclable packaging for all products by 2030.
Tide’s focus on environmental footprint goes beyond packaging to the product itself. The safety of Tide formulas as it relates to environmental and human health will remain a top priority, building on Tide’s history of going beyond regulatory compliance to ensure ingredient safety and supporting efforts alongside P&G to enact ingredient disclosure policies.
Finding water efficiencies will also be top of mind, as Tide aims to reduce water use at plants by 40% (by 2030 vs. 2010 baseline), while continuously evolving products to use less water in both formula and wash cycle.
Tide’s actions today are the latest in its 75-year history devoted to deliver a better clean for people and planet. It’s a never-ending journey which, to date, has seen several notable milestones, including a Tide-led coalition to introduce a recycling system for colored plastics in the 1980s, the introduction of low-water Tide Pods and low-sudsing formulas, the innovation of Eco-Box, made with up to 75% less packaging than traditional bottles, and the development of a cold water formula that’s been incorporated across the Tide portfolio.
Better for People
As Tide looks toward the future for a healthier planet, it remains committed to keeping the communities it serves at the heart of the brand, particularly those affected by climate change.
For fifteen years, Tide Loads of Hope has provided renewed hope and optimism through the basic comfort of clean clothing in the wake of natural disaster. Now, the brand is seeking to build on that history, helping millions of people in times of need by expanding its Tide Loads of Hope program tenfold.
Since 2005, in partnership with Matthew: 25 Ministries, Tide has helped more than 90,000 families across the U.S. through its Tide Loads of Hope program, bringing a free, mobile laundromat to communities affected by natural disasters. In 2020, Tide grew the Loads of Hope program to ease the load of COVID-19 first responders, engaging Tide Cleaners locations to support over 100,000 COVID-19 first responder visits and cleaning nearly two million garments.
