82 409
Fashion Jobs
MICHAEL KORS
PT Sales Supervisor, Walt Whitman Shops Huntington Station NY 11746
Permanent · HUNTINGTON
JCREW
Associate Manager
Permanent · CHARLOTTE
RAG & BONE
Account Executive
Permanent · NEW YORK
RAG & BONE
Senior Coordinator, Retail Marketing
Permanent · NEW YORK
MACY'S
Manager, Asset Protection
Permanent · FRIENDSWOOD
MACY'S
Asset Protection Detective, Southlake Mall - Part Time
Permanent · CLAYTON
MACY'S
Asset Protection Detective - Multi-Store, South Shore Plaza - Full Time
Permanent · BRAINTREE
MACY'S
Asset Protection Lead Detective - Multi-Store, South Shore Plaza - Full Time
Permanent · BRAINTREE
MACY'S
Manager, Asset Protection - Multi-Store
Permanent · FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS
STAND OUT FOR GOOD
Brand Rep
Permanent · LEAWOOD
RALPH LAUREN
Associate Manager
Permanent · TEXAS CITY
RALPH LAUREN
Associate Manager
Permanent · LEEDS
RALPH LAUREN
General Manager
Permanent · ALBERTVILLE
RALPH LAUREN
General Manager
Permanent · WOODSTOCK
QVC
Area Manager- Fulfillment Center, Nights
Permanent · SUFFOLK
QURATE RETAIL GROUP
Area Manager- Fulfillment Center, Days
Permanent · FLORENCE
LEE
PT Keyholder, Ellenton, FL
Permanent · ELLENTON
SUPRO CONSULTING
Area Sales Manager - on Roll - Opening
Permanent · SALEM
URBN
Anthropologie Design Director
Permanent · PHILADELPHIA
SACK OFF 5TH
Merchandise Planner, Women’s Core/Trend/pl Shoes
Permanent · NEW YORK
HUGO BOSS
Employee Relations Specialist
Permanent · DALLAS
AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS
ae - Merchandise Leader (Part-Time) - us
Permanent · EDINBURGH
By
Reuters API
Published
Jun 16, 2022
Reading time
3 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Unilever switches some ingredients due to commodities shortages, eco issues

By
Reuters API
Published
Jun 16, 2022

As commodities - from crude oil to sunflower oil - remain in short supply, Britain's Unilever has changed the ingredient makeup for some of its products like deodorants and packaged food to cut costs and mitigate supply constraints.


Reuters



The ability to switch ingredients and materials, something consumer goods manufacturers traditionally find difficult, became even more valuable after Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to commodity prices hitting multi-year highs.

In April, Unilever boss Alan Jope said the company had begun altering some of its recipes so it could use rapeseeed oil instead of sunflower oil, which had become scarce since the invasion. Ukraine typically produces about half the world's exports of sunflower oil.

According to Unilever's head of research and development, Richard Slater, the maker of Dove soap and Knorr stock cubes is not stopping there.

"Globally, there was a shortage of silicon so we were looking at our deodorant and making sure that we looked at the formulations there...to use less ingredients that are under pressure," Slater said in an interview.

Unilever, which makes Rexona, Dove, Axe and Lynx deodorants, dealt with this issue last year, he said.

In its home and beauty care businesses, the company has also been trying to reduce its products' reliance on petrochemicals and make them more sustainable.

"That has a double benefit if you can get a better product that is more sustainable, but also reduce the pressure on some of those ingredients under cost pressure," Slater said.

Many packaged goods makers have tried to wean themselves off palm oil, which has been blamed for deforestation and labor abuses, but is used in everything from P&G's Tide pods to Ferrero's Nutella.

On Thursday, Unilever said it had tied up with San Diego-based Genomatica to build and commercialize alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-derived cleansing ingredients.

"We're not talking about a few thousand tonnes here, we are talking meaningful commercial scale," Slater said, declining to provide details about how much of the new ingredient it plans to produce in the near term.

Sourcing alternatives to palm is also "really important from a supply resilience point of view" due to the pricing around the commodity, Slater added.

Unilever no longer relies solely on manual testing when it changes its formulas. Instead, it digitally models how new ingredients would affect products, Slater said.
For instance, he added, as it alters recipes for shampoos, the company uses robots to try dozens of differently modeled potential products on hair in a matter of hours.

Of the new Genomatica deal, Unilever's official statement quoted Slater saying: “Biotechnology has the potential to revolutionise the sourcing of our cleansing ingredients and ensure Unilever is a future-fit business – for consumers, shareholders and the planet we all share. This new venture will sit at the intersection of science and sustainability, meaning we can continue to grow our business without relying only on palm oil or fossil fuel derivatives, while also making our supply chains more resilient from having access to ingredient alternatives.

“We will be marrying science and nature to make sure there is no trade-off for our consumers between the efficacy and sustainability of their products. We are building this innovative new venture to have the scale to drive real impact and change in our industry, helping to reinvent the chemistry of home and personal care products for the 21st century.”

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.