P & G-owned brand Pantene has announced April 26 that the first shipment of its products in plastic bottles produced out of plant-based ingredients will hit the stores. Pantene offers to use sugar cane as a key ingredient in its new eco-friendly package solution that will be initially used for Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion line-up bottles, while the product formula is said to remain unchanged.

This package will be launched in Western Europe in summer and autumn; the manufacturer plans to establish worldwide supply of the shampoo in eco-bottles over the next 2 years.

According to official release of P&G, sugarcane plastic is a renewable source material as its production consumes over 70% less fossil fuels and releases over 170% less greenhouse gases per ton than traditional petroleum-based plastic.

Hanneke Faber, P&G’s Vice President & Brand Franchise Leader for Global Pantene said, «We’re thrilled to be the first hair care brand to use this technology on its packaging but we also recognize sustainability is a journey and we’re fully committed to it. Our goal is to punctuate this journey with meaningful innovations that make our communities more healthy and beautiful and we hope others will follow.”

Though this innovation sounds like a great step towards reducing the environmental footprint caused by packaging production, usage and disposal, P & G was not the first brand to announce the discovery of a renewable material that could replace petroleum in plastic production process. Back in March 2011, Pepsi announced it had developed the world’s first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based, fully renewable resources. But since Pepsi only plans to launch pilot production in 2012, P&G can truly be called a pioneer since its first shipment of the products in a newly-produced eco-friendly package is on its way to the Old World.