Colgate-Palmolive brings hand soap refill tablets to US personal care market

“The launch of Softsoap Foaming Tablets is a big step as we work to build a more sustainable, healthier future for all,” ​says Emily Fong Mitchell, General Manager of Personal Care in North America for Colgate-Palmolive, in her remarks to the press.

“Given our reach, we understand the impact of this step on the entire industry. We're excited to be leading this change as the first major CPG brand to offer a refill option in tablet form,” ​says Fong Mitchell, emphasizing that the Softsoap brands is in some 53 million households across North America.

Colgate-Palmolive launches Softsoap refills with aluminum bottles and foaming soap tablets

Beauty and personal care has been building toward a refill revolution for years now as startup brands, specialty retailers, and environmental services companies innovate to help meet consumer expectations and go green. And today it’s not uncommon to see industry suppliers and multinational brands bring refillable solutions to market as well.

The new Softsoap refill products from Colgate-Palmolive promise to be a part of this revolution. Launched this week online and in store with major retailers around the region, the Softsoap Foaming Tablet Starter Kit consists of a Softsoap-branded aluminum bottle and 2 refill tablets. The Refill Kit consists of 3 refill tablets.

Each tablet dissolves and dilutes to make an 8oz bottle of foaming liquid hand soap. The starter kit is retailing for $5.99 and the refill kit sells for $4.99. And for now, there are three scents available: Sparkling Lavender, Lemon Fizz, and Fresh Coconut.

Colgate-Palmolive's sustainability goals inspire new product development

The consumer products company is targeting 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable plastic packaging, an effort that assumes Colgate-Palmolive will eliminate 1/3 of the news plastics used for packaging. Refillables like the new Softsoap bottles do have plastic components, caps, dispenser pumps, dip tubes, seals, etc.

And for the Softsoap product line in particular, the company, “plans to move all pump bottles to 100% post-consumer recycled packaging by the end of 2022,” ​according to this week’s press release about the refillable soap launch.

The refillable Starter Kit uses 71% less plastic than a 8.75 oz bottle of Softsoap foaming hand soap. And the Refill Kit uses 92% less than a Softsoap 50 oz liquid hand soap refill bottle, according to the release.