Dan Felton, executive director of AMERIPEN04.29.22
Beauty product packaging could soon look very different.
The U. S. packaging industry is currently experiencing unprecedented legislative activity. This year alone, more than 500 bills—many of which focus on end-of-life issues such as recycled content and financing for recovery—have the potential to significantly affect packaging design in the near future.
For beauty and personal care brands and converters, three issues in particular warrant attention. Here’s a look.
One of the biggest shifts in packaging legislation occurred in 2021 when both Maine and Oregon passed bills that establish extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging. EPR is the concept that packaging producers should help cover the costs of recovering their packaging at its end of life. Since then, nearly 40 similar state-level bills have emerged as well as proposed legislation at the Federal level.
As new laws move into rulemaking, the implications for packaging remain uncertain. We anticipate plenty of opportunity for stakeholders to participate in future discussions to address fee setting and eco-modulation—the concept that fees may be reduced for more recyclable or environmentally friendly products. Negotiations will explore fees for different materials based on different factors, including costs of recycling, access and demand for recycled content, and use of recyclables.
California, New Jersey and Washington now mandate recycled content for some packaging, and interest in this approach is expected to grow. Mandating recycled content in products is believed to reduce virgin material demand and greenhouse gas emissions associated with their production, as well as help finance recycling by stimulating more demand for recycled goods. Focusing on recycled content in plastics packaging also may help reduce ocean pollution and create domestic recycling opportunities to reduce our reliance on foreign exports.
Data regarding supply, demand, and capacity for recycled content, however, show that mandates may not achieve their goals and may create unintended consequences. AMERIPEN research indicates that demand in the United States exceeds supply and capacity for plastic resins except high density polyethylene (HDPE). We need more processing facilities to meet capacity, plus improved collection and technology to meet high quality standards. This is of particular concern for the beauty industry because recycled content approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is difficult to acquire and is likely to be priced at a premium. We recommend partnering with suppliers that ensure secure access to recycled content as demand grows.
Consequently, it will be important for the beauty brands to understand recycled content percentages and registration dates for state-level reporting—some which commence this April.
Policymakers are increasingly interested in tying the use of recycling labeling and marketing to real behavior in the marketplace. While the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Green Guides have historically focused on access to recycling, a new law in California—which goes into effect sometime after 2024—restricts use of the “chasing arrows” symbol only to packaging that is recognized as “widely recycled” per a list that California regulators will develop. This will place increased pressure on beauty product brand owners to determine if California-specific labeling and marketing is needed and could alter the way they use popular labeling schemes.
As several more states are now considering their own standards for recyclability labeling, brands and converters should know which states mandate use of the chasing arrows with or without a resin identification code and how that may impact popular recycling labeling programs they might be leveraging.
Beauty companies have the opportunity to provide input into the future of packaging design either directly or via trade associations like AMERIPEN and others. We also recommend brands and converters begin to consider:
Increasing packaging recovery:Those that have their own return schemes or those that rely on municipal recycling programs should be working to help qualify recovery and collection.
Offering reusable packaging: Although it’s too early to know the opportunity and impact of reusable packaging, it is gaining further traction within legislative discussions as well as within the industry.
Engaging in legislative activity: Industry professionals are needed to educate legislators on the challenges in redesigning packaging, accessing recycled content, and educating consumers. Additionally, we need industry professionals to help advise rulemaking.
Working with suppliers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and FDA to increase the number of recycling facilities that could be approved to provide recycled content materials.
Want to learn more about upcoming packaging policymaking?
New Legislation & Brand Innovations for Sustainable Cosmetic Packaging
Featuring Dan Felton, AMERIPEN; Jill Tomandl,Smashbox; Mike Indursky, HEAR ME RAW Skincare; Joy Chen, Pure Culture Beauty
The U. S. packaging industry is currently experiencing unprecedented legislative activity. This year alone, more than 500 bills—many of which focus on end-of-life issues such as recycled content and financing for recovery—have the potential to significantly affect packaging design in the near future.
For beauty and personal care brands and converters, three issues in particular warrant attention. Here’s a look.
EPR for Packaging
One of the biggest shifts in packaging legislation occurred in 2021 when both Maine and Oregon passed bills that establish extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging. EPR is the concept that packaging producers should help cover the costs of recovering their packaging at its end of life. Since then, nearly 40 similar state-level bills have emerged as well as proposed legislation at the Federal level.
As new laws move into rulemaking, the implications for packaging remain uncertain. We anticipate plenty of opportunity for stakeholders to participate in future discussions to address fee setting and eco-modulation—the concept that fees may be reduced for more recyclable or environmentally friendly products. Negotiations will explore fees for different materials based on different factors, including costs of recycling, access and demand for recycled content, and use of recyclables.
Recycled Content Mandates
California, New Jersey and Washington now mandate recycled content for some packaging, and interest in this approach is expected to grow. Mandating recycled content in products is believed to reduce virgin material demand and greenhouse gas emissions associated with their production, as well as help finance recycling by stimulating more demand for recycled goods. Focusing on recycled content in plastics packaging also may help reduce ocean pollution and create domestic recycling opportunities to reduce our reliance on foreign exports.
Data regarding supply, demand, and capacity for recycled content, however, show that mandates may not achieve their goals and may create unintended consequences. AMERIPEN research indicates that demand in the United States exceeds supply and capacity for plastic resins except high density polyethylene (HDPE). We need more processing facilities to meet capacity, plus improved collection and technology to meet high quality standards. This is of particular concern for the beauty industry because recycled content approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is difficult to acquire and is likely to be priced at a premium. We recommend partnering with suppliers that ensure secure access to recycled content as demand grows.
Consequently, it will be important for the beauty brands to understand recycled content percentages and registration dates for state-level reporting—some which commence this April.
Labeling and Marketing
Policymakers are increasingly interested in tying the use of recycling labeling and marketing to real behavior in the marketplace. While the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Green Guides have historically focused on access to recycling, a new law in California—which goes into effect sometime after 2024—restricts use of the “chasing arrows” symbol only to packaging that is recognized as “widely recycled” per a list that California regulators will develop. This will place increased pressure on beauty product brand owners to determine if California-specific labeling and marketing is needed and could alter the way they use popular labeling schemes.
As several more states are now considering their own standards for recyclability labeling, brands and converters should know which states mandate use of the chasing arrows with or without a resin identification code and how that may impact popular recycling labeling programs they might be leveraging.
Taking Action
Beauty companies have the opportunity to provide input into the future of packaging design either directly or via trade associations like AMERIPEN and others. We also recommend brands and converters begin to consider:
Increasing packaging recovery:Those that have their own return schemes or those that rely on municipal recycling programs should be working to help qualify recovery and collection.
Offering reusable packaging: Although it’s too early to know the opportunity and impact of reusable packaging, it is gaining further traction within legislative discussions as well as within the industry.
Engaging in legislative activity: Industry professionals are needed to educate legislators on the challenges in redesigning packaging, accessing recycled content, and educating consumers. Additionally, we need industry professionals to help advise rulemaking.
Working with suppliers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and FDA to increase the number of recycling facilities that could be approved to provide recycled content materials.
Want to learn more about upcoming packaging policymaking?
New Legislation & Brand Innovations for Sustainable Cosmetic Packaging
Featuring Dan Felton, AMERIPEN; Jill Tomandl,Smashbox; Mike Indursky, HEAR ME RAW Skincare; Joy Chen, Pure Culture Beauty
