Liquid laundry detergent, now in a cardboard bottle

Seventh Generation, the household products company known for its natural cleaners and environmental stance, is introducing a liquid laundry detergent bottle that's made of recycled cardboard and newsprint.

The outer shell of the bottle (pictured above) contains 70 per cent recycled cardboard and 30 per cent old newspaper fibres. A plastic pouch inside holds the liquid.

Once the bottle is empty, consumers can pop it open to separate the cardboard from the plastic. The cardboard can be either recycled or put in a composter, while the plastic can be recycled.

Vermont-based Seventh Generation said that each bottle uses 60% less plastic than a typical 100 ounce 2X liquid laundry detergent.

"This is one of most sustainable packaged products in the laundry aisle," Peter Swaine, Seventh Generation's director of packaging development, said in a statement. "Consumers who use this product will automatically make a positive impact on the environment, even before their first laundry load."

The bottle, which will contain Seventh Generation's Natural 4X laundry detergent, will start to hit store shelves by the end of this month. It was unveiled today at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, Calif.

The bottle was designed in conjunction with Ecologic Brands, an Oakland, Calif.-based environmentally friendly packaging company founded in 2008. Its founder, Julie Corbett, says that in the United States only 29% of plastic jugs are recycled. The remainder end up in landfills.