LyondellBasell and Pigeon Singapore – the regional headquarter of its business unit covering Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and Oceania – announced their collaboration on advancing the sustainable research and development efforts in baby nursing bottles.

The renewed series of the Pigeon SofTouch™ nursing bottles will use the LyondellBasell bio-based CirculenRenew polypropylene polymers, as part of Pigeon’s transition away from using 100% virgin polypropylene resins.

Backed by over 60 years of breastfeeding research, Pigeon is the global no.1 brand^ in nursing bottles. By incorporating CirculenRenew into PP (polypropylene) parts (cap, hood, handle and PP bottle) used in the renewed Pigeon SofTouch™ nursing bottles, usage of virgin PP plastic will be reduced hence contributing to carbon emissions reduction. CirculenRenew PP has a 70% lower PCF (product carbon footprint) than fossil-based PP over the life cycle* due to the use of a bio-based feedstock.

In addition, consumers can look forward to reusing these nursing bottle as their child grows. By replacing the nipple or teat with Pigeon’s newly launched 2-step straw tops, babies can continue using the bottles to drink water or other fluids.

Pigeon is committed to achieving its purpose to make the world more baby friendly. “Our goal is to support parents in providing the best for their babies, and this includes a sustainable environment for the children to grow up and thrive in,” said Yusuke Nakata, CEO of Pigeon Singapore. “Over the past few years, we have been studying our material sources and switching to alternative options where possible. Using bio-based plastic for our nursing bottles is an exciting breakthrough and we are proud to be in collaboration with LyondellBasell to introduce this meaningful range.“

“At LyondellBasell, we are committed to creating solutions for everyday sustainable living and supporting our customers in achieving their sustainability goals. Our CirculenRenew product family enables this progress,” said Allen Yu, Senior Vice President of LyondellBasell, Asia Pacific. “We are very excited to collaborate with Pigeon Singapore on this project, which represents a milestone as we are supplying for the first time CirculenRenew grades for baby products.” 

The LyondellBasell CirculenRenew polymers are made from renewable feedstocks derived from bio-based wastes and residual oils, such as used cooking oils. These feedstocks are used in LyondellBasell’s conventional production processes along with conventional feedstocks, and are allocated to CirculenRenew products using an ISCC PLUS-certified mass balance approach. The use of renewable feedstocks offers a lower carbon footprint compared to fossil-based feedstocks.

Related Article: LyondellBasell and Shakti Plastic Industries Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Advance Mechanical Recycling in India

For this initiative, Pigeon has received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS certification, providing assurance to consumers that ISCC’s sustainability requirements for the bio-based materials that are linked to its products are met. An ISCC PLUS certification covers the entire value chain and is an internationally recognised certification standard that can be applied for the mass balance methodology.

In close cooperation with the Japanese trading company Iwatani Corporation and LyondellBasell, Pigeon will introduce these sustainable nursing bottles in Indonesia from December 2023, followed by the rest of the markets in Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and Oceania in the following year.