Unilever’s promised cuts to plastic are welcome... but it’s still not enough

Comments from CEO Alan Jope took some of the gloss off the announcement, while Greenpeace says the company has got the emphasis wrong, writes James Moore

The problem with plastic packaging is global, as this picture of Unilever products in India demonstrates (Getty)

Plastic fantastic?

Unilever, the consumer products giant with more brands than there are days in a year, has promised to halve its use of the stuff by 2025.

The popularity of products such as Comfort, Domestos, Persil, Radox, VO5 and others, all of which use it in their packaging, means the company throws off 700,000 tonnes of the stuff every year.