Sustainability in Consumer Products

3M thinks, works, and acts in ways to help the world be more sustainable, and the Consumer Business team is no different. We are committed to using 3M science to improve lives by building sustainability into our manufacturing operations, products, and packaging. We are proud that our Cynthiana, Kentucky plant, maker of Post-it® Notes and Scotch® Packaging Tapes, has maintained zero waste to landfill status since Q4 2016, and that our Hutchinson, Minnesota plant, which makes Scotch® Magic™ Tape, Scotch® Painter’s Tape, and Filtrete™ Air Filters achieved zero landfill status in 2020. In addition to waste reduction efforts, several of our facilities have made notable reductions in water or energy use.

More importantly, our commitment to Sustainability does not end with our manufacturing operations. The 3M Consumer Business team is also working to make our packaging more sustainable. This entails everything from reducing the amount of packaging, using packaging materials that can easily be recycled, and using packaging materials made from recycled content.

We are also building Sustainability Value Commitments into the products we sell to consumers, demonstrating how that product drives impact for the greater good. Examples of Sustainability Value Commitments for new products include reusability, recyclability, energy/waste/water savings, responsible sourcing, and/or recycled or renewable raw materials. This commitment also includes products with a core purpose of helping to solve an environmental or social challenge, such as improving air quality or improving worker safety.

Sustainability. One more way 3M stands apart.