The drugstore retailer dm is focusing on sustainable innovations, material savings and the use of recycled materials, particularly for its own brands, in its search for optimal packaging solutions. New tubes are also intended to turn popular cosmetic products into more environmentally friendly consumer goods. The company calculates that a tube with a diameter of 40 millimetres weighs 29 percent less on average thanks to the new reduced cap design. This leads to a reduction in CO2 both during production and transportation. This improvement is a further step on dm's path to acting in an ecologically sustainable manner and continuously working on innovations.
According to the company, the packaging of dm brand products already contains more than 40 percent recycled plastic. By 2025, dm wants to increase this proportion to 50 percent and is focusing on the use of mono-material packaging for better recyclability in the further development of dm brand products. For example, the tube of alverde shaving gel is made from at least 70 percent recycled material and the tube of aftershave from at least 61 percent. By using recycled plastic, a further 86 tons of new plastic are avoided.
“Democratization of Consumption”
The drugstore giant recorded sales growth of 9.5 percent within one year. More than 21.1 million people shop at dm in Germany every day. In addition to economic and social objectives, dm also pursues an ecological objective, explains the company. “We want to make products that have as little impact on ecosystems as possible affordable, as well as healthy organic food. We call this a democratization of the consumption of products that make sense for people and the planet,” said Christoph Werner, Chairman of the dm Management Board, in mid-November at the presentation of the latest business figures.
For employees and customers alike, practicing sustainability in all areas of the company is becoming increasingly relevant. However, the legal framework for this is often too bureaucratic, “often even excessive or impractical, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) or the Green Claims Directive”, said Werner. He puts the cost of CSDDD for dm at 500,000 euros per year.
