Colgate-Palmolive partners with Erthos to advance sustainable packaging with AI tool
Erthos has been developing Zya as an in-house tool for years and now intends to commercialize it.
USA – Colgate-Palmolive has partnered with biomaterials company Erthos to develop sustainable packaging solutions utilizing an AI-powered platform called Zya, slated for commercial launch in early 2026.
The collaboration focuses on creating biopolymer packaging that meets both performance and sustainability goals, starting with flexible packaging such as sachets and films for paper coating and lamination.
According to Erthos co-founder and CEO Nuha Siddiqui, Zya uses proprietary research and AI modeling to design non-toxic, PFAS-free materials that meet strict multilayer packaging standards.
“We’re now able to predict properties like water vapor transmission rate and oxygen transmission rate, which are challenging to test,” Siddiqui said.
This allows Colgate-Palmolive to explore new ingredient formulas unfamiliar to their teams, speeding up innovation.
The partnership, exclusive for the next few months, aims to refine Zya before it becomes available to other consumer packaged goods companies.
Greg Corra, Colgate-Palmolive’s senior vice president of global packaging and sustainability, emphasized the platform’s value, stating it provides “comprehensive and actionable data” to support their development process.
Colgate-Palmolive’s 2024 sustainability report shows a 25% reduction in virgin plastic use since 2019; however, challenges in sourcing high-quality recycled content have slowed progress toward their goal of a one-third reduction by 2025.
Zya was initially an internal tool at Erthos, founded seven years ago to create biobased alternatives to plastics.
Siddiqui explained that enabling brands to access the platform directly could transform the supply chain, acting as a marketplace for sustainable material development.
The tool is designed to reduce research and development costs, minimize risks, and accelerate the market launch of bioplastics.
Later this year, the partnership will expand to explore rigid packaging applications. Erthos plans to enhance Zya’s features and AI capabilities before its broader release.
In a related development, Amazon announced a partnership with recycling startup Glacier to use AI for identifying and recovering biomaterials at material recovery facilities.
This collaboration highlights Colgate-Palmolive’s commitment to innovative tools to meet its ambitious sustainability targets, including making all packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.
Despite industry-wide challenges with flexible packaging, such as those found in pet food bags and personal care pouches, the company continues to invest in cutting-edge solutions to reduce plastic waste.
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