Celebrating World Environment Day, Kimberly-Clark Softex Partners with Duitin to Boost Used Diaper Recycling Program

Jakarta, 3 June 2021 - Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia) once again emphasized its commitment to conduct business ethically and work towards reducing waste in their business processes, including used diapers. As an apparent effort and to commemorate World Environment Day, Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Duitin, a prominent circular economy platform, to further accelerate used diaper collection for recycling purposes.

“As one of the leading personal care brands in the diaper category, our challenge is to bring valuable products that meet customers’ needs while also minimizing environmental footprint as a way to help people live a better life. By adopting a collective approach and combining Duitin’s expertise in waste collection, we are confident to increase the diaper waste collection,” stated Hendra Setiawan, President Director of Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia).

To this date, Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest populated country after China, India, and the United States of America, with over 270 million populations. In 2018, the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) predicted that approximately 4.2 to 4.8 million babies will be born in Indonesia annually, making diapers becoming one of the essential items.

Currently, the estimation of Indonesia’s diapers market is at USD 1.6 billion, the sixth-largest in the world. Diapers have been a big part of Kimberly-Clark Softex’s (PT Softex Indonesia) business because the majority of Kimberly-Clark Softex’s (PT Softex Indonesia) sales come from diapers. Hence, it is crucial to pay extra attention to the end-to-end processes and impacts of the diapers business, from meeting consumers' expectations with safe and effective products to managing post-consumer product wastes for the good of the environment and society.

Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia) understands that a strong and consistent focus on the smallest environmental impact could bring a significant change towards society’s well-being. The partnership with local circular economy platform, Duitin, will be focusing on diaper waste collection in the South Tangerang and South Jakarta region.

Duitin is responsible to run, collect and deliver used diapers to Kimberly-Clark Softex’s (PT Softex Indonesia) recycling partners starting by the end of June 2021. The collection of used diapers will then be processed by Sarana Olah Sampah - a local community that assists in sorting, selecting, and processing waste through conventional methods into handicraft products that have value-added.

“There are various measures companies can take to reduce their waste footprint, one of which is through recycling. We recognize that one of the challenges in recycling is limited access and public information. Through this partnership with Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia), we hope to distinguish the importance of recycling further. We also hope this program will be able to empower other communities to carry out meaningful activities by sorting and recycling waste, as well as increasing the standard of living and professional image of waste collectors,” stated Adijoyo Prakoso, Co-Founder Duitin.

Before this partnership, Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia) has also been working with another online circular economy platform, to collect used diapers and deliver them to the recycling facilities in the Bandung area. Through all this collaboration, Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia) is confident of collecting 9.5 tons of used baby diapers monthly in 2021. Both Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia) and Duitin also expect to open over 350 new job opportunities through this program and invite society in South Tangerang and South Jakarta to contribute to the diaper waste collection ecosystem by accessing the Duitin mobile app.

Since the very beginning, Kimberly-Clark Softex (PT Softex Indonesia) has held a long commitment to bring sustainability efforts to their surroundings. As a real step, the company has been invited to become a member of the National Plastic Action Partnership to establish multi-stakeholder collaboration in handling plastic waste. As part of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Kimberly-Clark Softex aims to address the social and environmental challenges of the next decade with commitments to improve the lives and well-being of 1 billion people in underserved communities around the world with the smallest environmental footprint.