BUSINESS
The World’s Biggest Brands Want You to Refill Your Orange Juice and Deodorant
P&G, Nestlé and others try to curb plastic waste; Tropicana in glass bottles, Tide in metal cans

By Saabira Chaudhuri
Jan. 24, 2019 3:00 a.m. ET

The world’s biggest makers of shampoo, detergent and packaged food will test selling their products in reusable containers, adopting a milkman-style model to address mounting concerns about plastic waste. ... Procter & Gamble Co. PG -0.57% , Nestlé SA, NSRGY 0.57% PepsiCo Inc. PEP -1.11% and Unilever UL -1.12% PLC are among 25 companies that, this summer, will start selling some products in glass, steel and other containers designed to be returned, cleaned and refilled.

Critics question whether the project will achieve scale in the face of high costs and entrenched consumer behavior. But, if successful, the companies say the efforts will reduce waste from single-use packaging. It could also be a way to woo eco-conscious consumers, glean data and foster brand loyalty. ... “I sometimes wonder if it’s a fair accusation that we’re in the branded litter business,” Unilever Chief Executive Alan Jope said at a conference Tuesday, adding that the company must do more on plastic waste. “That’s what people care about right now.”

Unilever will sell nine brands in refillable containers as part of the initiative, which will be run by recycling company TerraCycle Inc. and start with 5,000 shoppers in New York and Paris in May. The pilot will extend to London later this year and cities including Toronto and Tokyo next year, according to TerraCycle. ... Unilever estimates a refillable steel container for its Axe and Dove stick deodorants will last eight years—long enough to prevent the disposal of as many as 100 traditional deodorant packages.

Refillables once dominated industries such as beer and soft drinks but lost out to convenient, affordable single-use containers. In 1947, refillables made up 100% of soft-drink containers by volume and 86% of beer containers, according to the Container Recycling Institute, a nonprofit. By 1998 those figures dropped to 0.4% and 3.3%, respectively. ... While a handful of entrepreneurs have founded businesses that sell shampoo and detergents in refillable containers, and some grocery stores sell in bulk to consumers who bring their own containers, the practice is niche.
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Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications
Simon Lowden is president of PepsiCo Inc.’s global snacks group. An earlier version of this article incorrectly described him as head of marketing for global snacks. (Jan. 24, 2019)