Industry collaboration

In 2019, Clorox became a signatory of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which unites businesses, governments and others behind a clear vision of a circular economy for plastic in which it never becomes waste or pollution. 

As a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, we helped to bring standardized recycling labeling instructions to packaging. We’ve also been active participants in efforts by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to develop and test biodegradable plastics.

We helped to develop an industry-wide labeling tool, giving consumers easily accessible, detailed information on a wide range of food, beverage, supplement, household, pet care, personal care and over-the-counter U.S. retail products in a single place, using a consistent digital format. SmartLabel launched in 2015, and today it houses ingredient information for more than 100,000 products, including over 1,000 brands from more than 60 different companies.

Our Burt’s Bees and Brita brands work with TerraCycle’s recycling program to enable consumers to recycle product materials. The free Burt’s Bees TerraCycle® recycling program has collected over 192,000 units of packaging to date. 

In 2015, Clorox became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, which brings companies, NGOs, governments and other stakeholders together to advance the most important sustainability issues in the world as reflected in the organization’s Ten Principles.

Clorox has collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for many years to advocate and support its programs including Safer Choice, a voluntary program that brings together stakeholders to advance the use of safer chemicals and promote sustainability in products. Since 2016, Clorox has been named a Safer Choice Partner of the Year seven times for outstanding achievement in the manufacturing of products that are safer for families, pets, workplaces, communities, and the environment. We also participate in its Smart Way program, which helps companies advance supply chain sustainability by improving freight efficiency. Learn more about Safer Choice and Design for the Environment program disclosures. 

In 2020, we became a founding member of the U.S. Plastics Pact to create a path toward a circular economy for plastic and amplify our IGNITE strategy commitment to reduce plastic waste. The U.S. Plastics Pact uses a cross-sector approach and is part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact network.

Since 2021, Clorox has been a member of Action for Sustainable Derivatives, further expanding our multi–stakeholder collaborations in the palm derivatives sector and our on-the-ground implementation of transformation activities in Indonesia. Clorox co-leads the Action for Sustainable Derivatives Human Rights Working Group. 

We participate in AIM-Progress, a forum for leading consumer goods manufacturers and suppliers that drives collaboration to positively impact people’s lives and ensure respect for human rights by improving responsible sourcing practices, building supply chain capabilities, sharing ethical sourcing audits and collaborating on human rights.

Through our Burt’s Bees Global Supply Chain Investment Program, we actively partner with our ingredient suppliers for Burt’s Bees products in collaborative partnerships that help safeguard access to clean water, support women’s and children’s empowerment and promote health, safety, and biodiversity. As of 2024, we’ve partnered with 20 ingredient sourcing communities in 13 countries around the world impacting 30,000+ people. 

We are committed to ending animal testing in our industry. As a board member of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, we collaborate with a community of scientists in industry, government and academia to further the development of alternative product testing methods to reduce or wholly eliminate the usage of animals in the process of product safety testing. The Burt’s Bees brand has been Leaping Bunny certified since 2008, which means we do not test our formulas or ingredients on animals or ask anyone to do so on our behalf.

We work closely with the Earthworm Foundation, or EF, a non-profit organization driven to positively impact the relationship between people and nature. Our work with EF is primarily focused on traceability, enhancing our suppliers’ commitments and on-the-ground transformation activities within palm oil value chains.

In an effort to advance collaboration in natural ingredient supply chains, we are founding members of the Global Shea Alliance and Responsible Mica Initiative.  We partner with the Global Shea Alliance to design, develop, and deliver strategies that drive a competitive and sustainable shea industry worldwide and to improve the livelihoods of rural African women and their communities. In collaboration with the Responsible Mica Initiative, we are committed to establishing a fair, responsible and sustainable mica supply chain in the states of Jharkhand and Bihar in India that will eliminate unacceptable working conditions and eradicate child labor.

In 2023, we began participating in the Sustainable Coconut Partnership, a global platform for coconut sustainability. The multi-stakeholder initiative works towards a responsible and resilient coconut sector that drives positive impact for farmers’ livelihoods, the climate and the environment.

As a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, we are dedicated to the principles and criteria focused on eliminating the negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the environment and communities in palm oil-producing regions.

In 2024, Clorox began supporting Forest Conservation Fund, which aims to decentralize conservation by empowering local communities and the private sector to protect forests. Through Forest Conservation Fund, Clorox contributes to conservation efforts of the Lesan River Forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is an important sourcing region for palm oil derivative starting materials.   

As a member of Sedex, we use Sedex Member Ethical Trade, or SMETA, audits and self-assessment questionnaires for collecting and analyzing information on ethical and responsible business practices in the supply chain. Through our mutual recognition approach, our selected business partners complete one self-assessment and/or audit that may be shared with multiple customers. By doing this, manufacturers and suppliers can focus their efforts on improving responsible sourcing practices rather than preparing for duplicative audits.