Approximately 36% of all plastics produced are used in packaging, approximately 85% of which ends up as plastic pollution. Taking responsibility for its business’ impact on the environment, Unilever has pledged to remove more than 100,000 tonnes of plastic entirely, by 2025.

Unilever products reach 9 in 10 Indian households. With a population that’s equivalent to the sum of 12 of the largest countries, India has one of the world’s biggest plastic footprints.

The future will only be about plastic alternatives. Unilever had to future-proof its business by building sustainable packaging solution. We needed to re-examine the fundamentals and drive conversions through mass adoption of a sustainable packaging solution. So, we had to activate an effective sustainable solution in a channel where people were making purchases.

But the challenge was, ‘How do we convince shoppers to shift to a sustainable alternative if they don’t care about the environment?’

We sacrificed Unilever’s most valuable branding asset –its packaging. We introduced Smart Fill, an in-store experience, that lets shoppers use other brands’ plastic waste as Unilever packaging. Shoppers can use any empty container as packaging to Smart fill products like Vim, Surf Excel and Comfort.

Creative solution harnessed two cultural nuances that stem from the resourcefulness mindset of Indian shoppers.

1. Culture of thrift. Unlike West, trade-offs are expected with every action. People carry bags to supermarkets to avoid carry bag charges. It isn’t that they cannot afford 7¢ carry bag on a $70 bill, but they dislike wastefulness.

2. Cultural practice of repurposing used packaging like cookie tins as sewing kits, soda bottles as spray bottles.

Our strategy was to tap this resourcefulness and sense of thrift to seamlessly fit into the existing shopper journey, without sacrificing time and effort.

We took away the branding, to build the brand.