Colgate has launched Smile for Good Toothpaste — in a first-of-its-kind recyclable tube.

The design is also unique — featuring an ingredient list graphic as a design element, front and center on the packaging. 

Colgate-Palmolive says this is the first tube recognized as recyclable by RecyClass, and the company is sharing its tube technology with competitors, in an effort to help ensure that all toothpaste tubes meet third-party recycling requirements.

Typically, toothpaste tubes cannot be recycled because most are made from sheets of plastic laminate, which are usually a combination of different plastics – sandwiched around a thin layer of aluminium. The mix of materials makes it impossible to recycle through conventional methods.

Smile for Good changes this, using High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), the plastic used to make milk jugs and other plastic bottles that is already widely recycled.

The Innovation: Squeezable HDPE

Having previously thought HDPE was too rigid to create a squeezable toothpaste tube, Colgate engineers figured out how to combine different grades and thicknesses of HDPE laminate into a tube that meets recycling standards, while protecting the product and holding up to the demands of high-speed production, all while remaining comfortably squeezable.

Noel Wallace, Chief Executive Officer and President of Colgate-Palmolive comments, “Colgate wants to make tubes a part of the circular economy by keeping this plastic productive and eliminating waste. If we can standardize recyclable tubes among all companies, we all win. We want all toothpaste tubes — and eventually all kinds of tubes — to meet the same third-party recycling standards that we’ve achieved.  We can align on these common standards for tubes and still compete with what’s inside them.”

Wallace says the decision to freely share the tube technology aligns with the company’s values and sustainability goals. It also contributes to its ongoing work supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. The Foundation’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

A ‘Clean’ Formula

Colgate’s Smile for Good toothpaste contains a minimal number of ingredients. Each ingredient is listed, with its its purpose clearly explained on the front of the pack. 

The ingredients contained within the paste are 99.7% natural and purposefully selected to make the paste optimal for everyday protection. There are currently two variants – Smile for Good Protection and Smile for Good Whitening, with baking soda known for its whitening properties.

The product is also SLS Free and has been certified by the Vegan Society, the FSC, and EcoCert, meaning the formula is responsibly made and most of the components are derived from natural sources.