Jamie Matusow, Editor-in-Chief04.29.22
To satisfy a robust, largely consumer-driven effort, the Beauty Industry has made tremendous strides (especially over the last two years), as far as sustainable packaging. From gradual purchasers’ acceptance and desire, to governmental packaging mandates, to supplier R&D and realistic retail expectations, industry development has been monumental. Where has the focus turned as we move ahead? Consumer education, industry cooperation at all levels, and a quest for circularity drive the trends. Want to join the conversation? We’d love to hear from you. Please email me with your thoughts at jmatusow@rodmanmedia.com
To take the current industry pulse, we asked a cross-section of beauty experts—including brands, suppliers, designers, retailers and packaging organizations—for their perspectives and predictions on significant developments in sustainable packaging.
Following are their thoughtful responses to the following dual question:
In your opinion, what has been the most significant development in sustainable packaging, in general, within the last two years? What will be the greatest changes/challenges/opportunities ahead for brands, suppliers, consumers?
In my opinion, the most significant development in sustainable packaging is pyrolysis, the production of circular polymers from mixed plastic waste that can be remolded with identical properties to virgin material. This game-changing technology will reduce waste by increasing the size and types of packaging that can be recycled.
Looking ahead: Creating a circular economy is critical to reduce material waste and CO2 emissions. Sustainability must be top of mind throughout the packaging process including design, engineering, material selection, construction, manufacturing and regionalization, power sources, distribution and end-of-life management.
Brands must engage and educate consumers about packaging sustainability including recycling, refills, materials, reuse and recovery through storytelling, trends, claims, details, certifications and instructions to change mindsets and behaviors. “Sustainability” must become the new “cool.”
Brands, suppliers, retailers, and consumers must work together to create systemic change.
Investment in innovation, collection, scaling new technology, new business models, and cost-of-goods is required.
We must do what we can, as fast as we can, to make an impact.
Watch our video interview with Jill Tomandl.
Jillian Wright, Vice President, Willow Beauties and Master Aesthetician at Jillian Wright Facials
Looking Ahead: Finding the right packaging solution for your brand takes time, patience and thinking—no pun, “outside the box.” There are many alternate materials on the market but a brand has to do their due diligence in finding the right fit for them. (See sidebar on page 44 for brands that Wright points out as innovators in this area.)
Laura Otani, Head of Packaging and Sustainable Design, e.l.f. Beauty
Brands need to be in the mindset of meeting consumer preferences on sustainability. Like the fashion industry, there is significant push towards environmentally and socially conscious platforms. From brands collaborating with manufacturers to innovate new technology to building sustainable, clean, vegan and cruelty free into their DNA, the time to act is now.
Looking Ahead: Developing sustainable packaging is a journey and we know that a small percentage of packaging is recycled today. Brands, suppliers and retailers are operating dynamically in this space. The way we’ll be the most effective is by collaboration with a willingness to break barriers, disrupt and invent new. At e.l.f. Beauty, we’ve made great strides on our clean and lean platform, reducing outer packaging, removing decoration and light weighting components, and we look forward to continuing to push boundaries as we grow in this space.
Jenn Kapahi, Co-CEO + Founder, Trestique
The most significant development in sustainable packaging is there are a lot of new sustainable materials from PCR to eco-friendly; refills are making their way in all beauty verticals and creating new business opportunities; and there is finally an end of life management consideration.
Looking ahead: Keep in mind that sustainability is a journey. It is ever evolving, and we are at its infant stage as the packaging industry is going through the biggest adaptation phase it’s ever had—sourcing and developing new materials while being cost-effective. For brands, the biggest challenge is to create a full 360-degree sustainable circularity experience—from sourcing through usage and end-of-life.
Customers are at their learning phase of what sustainability is, and can’t distinguish between real sustainable packages and ones a brand just claims as such. This is going to change soon, as customers get more educated about sustainability.
Megan Douglas, Founder/Product Creator, The Organic Skin Co.
Customers and retailers are demanding authentic sustainable solutions from beauty brands and they don’t want greenwashing. Delivering truly innovative sustainable packaging takes time, creativity and a streamlined manufacturing chain. With packaging rebrands taking up to 2 years to get on shelf, the greatest challenge is to innovate fully, yet move swiftly enough to deliver.
Looking ahead: A customer is more likely to purchase a sustainably packaged beauty product if it looks amazing, it feels great in hand and it still performs as expected. That’s our job as a brand—to genuinely tick all the boxes so that the customer can make the eco-transition and be excited for it.
Our challenge as an industry is to build and back a packaging supply chain that makes the existing non-recyclable packaging model obsolete. Accelerated innovation, team-work and education remain the greatest opportunities, while the challenges remain a lack of awareness (still!) by many to the dangers of non-action.
Tina Hedges, Founder, LOLI Beauty
It’s amazing to see that both Indie and multinational beauty brands are embracing new packaging technologies and acknowledging the urgent need for better solutions than single-use or recycled plastic packaging. We’re thrilled that food-grade, 100% garden compostable solutions, like our mycelium (fungi) material, are being scaled to meet nationwide distribution.
Packaging is an integral part of beauty branding, given its ability to instantly ignite a spectrum of feelings in consumers. Consumers are growing more discerning of the brands they support and the impact of their products on the environment, so it’s critical for the industry to stop “greenwashing” and doubling down on micro changes like “recyclable” plastics when only about 16% of plastics are reprocessed and recycled. One example to consider is the circular packaging model. How can we as an industry eliminate excess packaging, and find innovative ways to repurpose or reuse?
Looking ahead: Managing bottom line profitability is definitely a challenge for a brand of any size to address. New technologies are slow to market, often in MVP stage and are therefore fraught with flaws, demand long lead-times, and are expensive to commercialize. We worked through unprecedented hurdles when launching our mycelium packaging for our ULTA launch. If it weren’t for our buyer and the entire management’s support of our vision, we would not have been able to bring this packaging to market.
From R&D to retailers, PR to creative, everyone needs to band together and understand that sustainable innovations will require unprecedented ways of doing things—the old templates won’t work. It’s also essential that as an industry, we share our learnings and “open source” our technologies. Sustainability is still an imperfect science as for every new solution, there are also compromises or challenges. Working in a black box will not help our industry move at the pace that our planet requires.
Frankly, the most significant development in sustainable packaging in the last two years is the fact that we are all talking about it! Today, this is the focus of all the beauty companies, suppliers and packaging designers when embarking on a new brand or re-creating an existing brand to fit sustainable criteria. Having attended the Luxe Pack New York show last Fall, it was more than evident that every supplier was talking the talk about sustainable packaging and also walking the walk.
Without doubt, it is the plastics suppliers that have the most difficult situation. Their efforts so far in terms of using partial recyclable plastic or creating refillable jars with inserts is a major step in achieving sustainability. As a designer, the challenge of course is to design packaging that retains the ‘look’ of luxury with the ‘promise’ of sustainability.
Looking ahead: The most important factor for packaging designers is to not lose sight of our primary obligation to our client and to the consumer. Designing beautiful, impactful and appropriate containers for fragrance, skincare and cosmetics that underscores the brand and product within, while at the same time being as sustainable as possible. The goal may be sustainable packaging, but brands beware, there is a fine line between achieving beautiful and creating sustainable. We must balance both to satisfy our mission.
Stephen Corsi, Vice President Packaging Development, Roberts Beauty
Notable developments include new efficient packaging designs, improved material origination (particularly reclaimed Ocean Plastic where Roberts has partnered with category leader Oceanworks) and new resin development which promise more favorable material lifecycle properties. Probably the most significant however, would be the sustainability mandates from organizations such as Sephora, L’Oréal, and Credo Beauty: Directly or indirectly, these seem to be driving a sizable part of the demand we see from brands that come to us for solutions.
Looking ahead: Even though we already have some great sustainability solutions in place, there is still much to do before we completely offset the long-standing problems caused by fossil fuel derived resins, lifecycle energy inefficiencies and end-of-life reclaim/waste management. The biggest challenge is to match solutions to consumer expectations and brand messaging at an acceptable price. Education will continue to be extremely important, particularly between brands and their consumers. Potential U.S. state level Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation and retailer mandates have added extra pressure on brands to find authentic sustainable solutions. By working together and keeping an open dialogue, we can collectively meet these challenges and bring our industry to a better place.
Shayne Tilley, Head of Marketing at 99designs by Vista
Sustainable packaging has become mainstream. Eco-friendly materials are more accessible, and new methods of packaging design, from returnable to reusable, have come onto the scene to minimize waste and maximize usage. With customers now actively seeking sustainable options, brands need to explore these options in order to stay competitive.
Looking ahead: It’s important for brands to keep in mind the role design plays, not only to stand out, but also to educate consumers on their sustainability promises. Transparency is essential for building trust, and design is pivotal to communicating your brand values.
For brands, finding the right packaging and ways to use less material without compromising on quality or aesthetics is an ongoing challenge. Yet this also creates opportunities to discover even better solutions. For consumers, it’s all about accessibility. As more brands produce environmentally conscious products that look good and do good, making greener choices becomes easier and more appealing. (See more from Tilley at BeautyPackaging.com)
Genevieve Lawrence, Director of Sustainability and Impact, Sustainable Global Design Firm MaCher
[One significant change has been] the formation of 30 Certified B Corporations across the globe, in the beauty industry, coming together to form the B Beauty Coalition. The coalition recognizes that addressing packaging impact means working together in a pre-competitive environment with all stakeholders from supply chain, brands and end-of-life recovery.
Looking ahead: There is a lot of learning and unlearning to do, you need to be prepared to shift gears and move away from a solution if new research is showing that it is not as viable as you first thought. As we invest more in understanding the processes of recovery, recycling, material science and refillables, we will also need to be adaptable to what the research is telling us. If the holistic impact is not positive, we need to improve it or seek out a different alternative. Educating consumers along the way with what we are learning will improve our progress. If consumers understand how to responsibly handle packaging, it makes it far easier to recover materials and input back into the supply chain.
Michela Graci, Strategy Partner and Sustainability Champion at Coley Porter Bell
“It’s often said that the most sustainable act you can make is to use the things you already own, and in recent years we’ve seen the beauty industry joining the refill revolution. Consumers accustomed to their refillable water bottles, soap dispensers and coffee pods, want the same with their beauty products. Luxury brands have led the way, limiting single-use products and adopting refillable packaging, without jeopardizing their identifiable design and brand aesthetics.
Looking ahead: At a time when consumers find recycling to be confusing, brands need clear messaging and action. It’s no longer enough for brands to say they ‘do good’, they must prove it or risk disengagement. Consumers are more powerful, knowledgeable and opinionated than ever and they want to see companies reflect their social practice throughout their brand experience, not just the packaging. Historically, the conversation around sustainability focused on the environment, but it’s now broader and embracing aspects of economic development and social equity.
It’s estimated that 70% of carbon emissions associated with the beauty industry could be eliminated by swapping to refillable containers. Brands need to step up–start with improving reuse and extending their sustainable efforts beyond the shelves and looking for cross-industry synergies in technology, supply chain logistics and open sources to ensure sustainable initiatives don’t come at a cost for consumers and rapidly become mainstream.”
The ability to recycle resins without making aesthetic and performance sacrifices is the most significant development in many years. This technology not only reduces the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing plastics, it also reduces our dependency on crude oil supply. It is a giant step towards a circular supply chain.
Looking ahead: The greatest sustainability opportunity for brands is to begin considering the end of life options for their products. In order for sustainability to make a significant impact, we need to plan for the reuse of the materials used to make these products. This needs to encompass more than simply using recycled materials. Brands need to design products to be more easily recycled, reused or repurposed.
Kristen K. Duncan, Sustainable Solutions Development Manager, NEENAH
Consumer education and heightened interest in sustainability [have been significant developments]. Consumers now consider the sustainability values of a brand, including tangible things like the recyclability of packaging, as a part of their decision-making process. This often factors heavily into brand loyalty. Social media and influencers also play a big role in perception and how some of this information is shared.
Looking ahead: It’s all about the consumer. There is a heightened awareness around sustainability that brings a new level of attention to packaging. Brands need to exhibit honesty and transparency about not only the materials used, but the recyclability of the decorated packaging, reductions in waste, and other factors that the consumer is passionate about.
JK Park, CEO, CTK Bio Canada, a Division of CTK Korea
In the last two years, the bioplastic space has experienced a tremendous growth, with newer alternatives and a wider range of properties that are slowly being adapted into the replacement of traditional plastics such as ABS, PP and HDPE/LDPE.
Looking ahead: At CTK Bio Canada, we strongly believe that the journey to more sustainable packaging solutions needs to go beyond traditional ineffective recycling and the use of traditional materials made from fossil fuels that at the end of the day contribute to aggravate climate change. Besides the well-known R’s—“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”—we want to add “Renewables” to the mix as another solution for sustainable packaging that significantly decreases the impact on the environment. By “renewables’ we mean including more biodegradable bioplastics into the beauty industry.
Tara Karsten, Sales Director and Key Commercial Sustainability Lead, Yonwoo/PKG
The most significant development has been] the removal of the metal spring in pumps via introduction of all polyolefin pump systems. Utilizing all polyolefin pump systems can enable beauty packaging that was previously thrown away to be recycle-ready.
Looking ahead: The demand for PCR material across all packaging categories is skyrocketing. The challenge is whether supply can meet demand long term. Yonwoo/PKG’s strong partnerships with both new and existing local PCR resin suppliers is critical to meeting the growing demand for PCR from our customers. Looking ahead, brands will be challenged to provide sustainable packaging that conveys the established aesthetic their consumers have come to know and love. Packaging suppliers have the unique opportunity to meet this need. Consumers will require education to change their beauty packaging disposal habits to reflect the shift to recycle-ready packaging.
Sunny Sontakke, COO and VP Sales & Marketing, Global Packaging
The developments being made in the process of chemically recycled resins are quite exciting. This will encourage brands to use FDA-approved PCR more readily with less quality issues. However, we believe that the future of sustainability will, in the end, be more defined by end-consumers’ personal usage and disposal habits.
Looking ahead: With more research and development, the industry is evolving and coming to the realization for a need to apply a more innovative approach when addressing the issue of sustainable packaging. Educating society and putting policies in place for recyclability remains an open challenge. As such, more lightweight plastic, mono-material, refillable, glass, paper, and higher quality recycled resins are shown to be rising in demand. Our role is to capture the innovation and readily offer these as an alternative packaging that can still viably capture the market at large.
Glenn Tatem, Vice President of Package Development, Maesa
Seeing how far we can push wood pulp packaging, such as what is being done with Pulpex and others [has been significant]. First steps are being taken to launch bottles holding liquid; next, explore HBA and begin to use more sustainable and renewable raw materials.
Looking ahead: While we all work on innovation, we need to remain focused on moving what we can to truly sustainable practices. A challenge and also an opportunity will come in brands committing to using more PCR in their products. The challenge will be sustaining and growing this supply chain. The opportunity is we will have a direct influence in creating value in what is now too often “garbage.” The more we use PCR, the more the demand. Once there is value to our materials, they will be recycled, and with this, more industry will fill the supply chain needs. We need to at the same time make “recyclizing” easier to understand and standardize.
Kelly Gardi, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Zignago
The most significant development in sustainable packaging has been the push to switch components from plastic to glass. Now, many glass factories worldwide, after the pause in demand during the pandemic, have long lead-times due to a high demand.
Looking ahead: The source of energy that is used to manufacture components plays a key role in the carbon footprint of a final product. Using renewable energy is as important as using recycled materials when manufacturing. The new mindset on all sides of the spectrum require that products are made with greater respect toward the environment and the communities involved. The challenge lies in meeting increasing demand for products in a sustainable fashion during a context of scarcity and supply chain issues. Opportunities lie in the creation of innovations that respect these values.
Retailer Mia Davis, Vice President of Sustainability and Impact, at ‘Clean Beauty’ retailer Credo
We’re starting to see refillable packaging components for makeup—think refillable compacts, palettes, lipstick bullets—as well as bulk refills for hand soaps and hair products. The most sustainable packaging solutions use far less material, and are designed to last. In addition to being more sustainable, refills bring new opportunities for customer loyalty and creative merchandising.
Looking ahead: There is no silver bullet when it comes to more sustainable beauty packaging. On top of fundamental considerations (like look & feel, cost of goods) brands and customers are faced with a real lack of information from suppliers about material sources, resins used and end-of-life realities. One of the most important things we need to do as an industry is clearly identify plastic types on packaging, and not imply they will be recycled when there is little-to-no chance they will be. (No more chasing arrows on plastic that is not accepted at MRFs.) When a customer is left holding a bottle, pump and cap, they need to know what they’re made of so they can know how to dispose of them. The time for making excuses about this (“it isn’t usually done,” “the package is too small”) is past. Let’s move forward.
Packaging Organizations Dan Felton, Executive Director, AMERIPEN
One of the most significant developments for sustainable packaging in the U.S. has been increased legislation and now new laws for packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR). This means additional costs for the entire value chain and companies should be engaged to recognize the value of recycled and reusable packaging—key growth areas for beauty packaging.
Looking ahead: Legislation is rapidly advancing EPR and recycled content mandates in the U.S. Between legislative demand for increased recycled content and voluntary corporate goals, market pressures on materials will increase. AMERIPEN completed a study in 2021 that identified a significant gap between demand and available capacity and supply for recycled content. We need collaboration among the packaging industry, brands, and government to identify the policy, social and economic solutions to get us towards a circular packaging system while recognizing today’s challenges in the system. Failure to have this dialogue may cause unintended consequences and disruption of our advancement towards increasing packaging sustainability and circularity. (See Felton’s article on page 74 of this issue.)
Adam Ryan, Head of Pentawards
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen an increasing sophistication of sustainable packaging in terms of how it incorporates luxury and premium cues that engage consumers, while still being sustainable. It’s moving way on from recycled cardboard and natural color palettes to incorporate more sophisticated materials, including sustainable inks, finishes and printing processes—which has huge benefits for beauty brands who want to be both sustainable and premium.
Looking ahead: We know from consumers that they increasingly want to engage with brands who can demonstrate their sustainable credentials. With this in mind, sustainable packaging can no longer be an option or a ‘nice to have’ for beauty brands. The biggest challenge the industry now has is working out how to incorporate sustainability into their brand and packaging in a way that rings true for consumers’ impression of the brand. Crucially, they need to avoid greenwashing at all costs as consumers are increasingly savvy about sniffing that out and are willing to boycott or take to social media to shout about inauthentic brands. However, the big opportunity is to fold sustainability into your packaging in such a way that it takes consumers with you on your journey to becoming more sustainable, builds a story and narrative around it that elevates your brand in the long run.
Wright points to The Handmade Soap Company, whose heat and electricity are generated by a hydro-turbine. She says Donagh, the founder went from two pots and pans from his kitchen to purchasing and upcycling a 200-year old linen mill fitted with repurposed stills. Their Anam collection has the world’s first compostable refill for liquid washes and lotions. All inbound packaging is shredded to become their outbound packaging. They avoid single-use plastic. All bottles are 100% post-consumer recycled & recyclable. Another example: The outer packaging of Suki Skincare is made of discarded fruit rinds.
Fig-1 is a brand that just landed at Walmart, says Wright, and they have a refillable, recyclable system and even show you how to recycle their product online.
To take the current industry pulse, we asked a cross-section of beauty experts—including brands, suppliers, designers, retailers and packaging organizations—for their perspectives and predictions on significant developments in sustainable packaging.
Following are their thoughtful responses to the following dual question:
In your opinion, what has been the most significant development in sustainable packaging, in general, within the last two years? What will be the greatest changes/challenges/opportunities ahead for brands, suppliers, consumers?
Brands
Jill Tomandl, Vice President Product Development and Brand Sustainability Lead, Smashbox, Estée Lauder CompaniesIn my opinion, the most significant development in sustainable packaging is pyrolysis, the production of circular polymers from mixed plastic waste that can be remolded with identical properties to virgin material. This game-changing technology will reduce waste by increasing the size and types of packaging that can be recycled.
Looking ahead: Creating a circular economy is critical to reduce material waste and CO2 emissions. Sustainability must be top of mind throughout the packaging process including design, engineering, material selection, construction, manufacturing and regionalization, power sources, distribution and end-of-life management.
Brands must engage and educate consumers about packaging sustainability including recycling, refills, materials, reuse and recovery through storytelling, trends, claims, details, certifications and instructions to change mindsets and behaviors. “Sustainability” must become the new “cool.”
Brands, suppliers, retailers, and consumers must work together to create systemic change.
Investment in innovation, collection, scaling new technology, new business models, and cost-of-goods is required.
We must do what we can, as fast as we can, to make an impact.
Watch our video interview with Jill Tomandl.
Jillian Wright, Vice President, Willow Beauties and Master Aesthetician at Jillian Wright Facials
Looking Ahead: Finding the right packaging solution for your brand takes time, patience and thinking—no pun, “outside the box.” There are many alternate materials on the market but a brand has to do their due diligence in finding the right fit for them. (See sidebar on page 44 for brands that Wright points out as innovators in this area.)
Laura Otani, Head of Packaging and Sustainable Design, e.l.f. Beauty
Brands need to be in the mindset of meeting consumer preferences on sustainability. Like the fashion industry, there is significant push towards environmentally and socially conscious platforms. From brands collaborating with manufacturers to innovate new technology to building sustainable, clean, vegan and cruelty free into their DNA, the time to act is now.
Looking Ahead: Developing sustainable packaging is a journey and we know that a small percentage of packaging is recycled today. Brands, suppliers and retailers are operating dynamically in this space. The way we’ll be the most effective is by collaboration with a willingness to break barriers, disrupt and invent new. At e.l.f. Beauty, we’ve made great strides on our clean and lean platform, reducing outer packaging, removing decoration and light weighting components, and we look forward to continuing to push boundaries as we grow in this space.
Jenn Kapahi, Co-CEO + Founder, Trestique
The most significant development in sustainable packaging is there are a lot of new sustainable materials from PCR to eco-friendly; refills are making their way in all beauty verticals and creating new business opportunities; and there is finally an end of life management consideration.
Looking ahead: Keep in mind that sustainability is a journey. It is ever evolving, and we are at its infant stage as the packaging industry is going through the biggest adaptation phase it’s ever had—sourcing and developing new materials while being cost-effective. For brands, the biggest challenge is to create a full 360-degree sustainable circularity experience—from sourcing through usage and end-of-life.
Customers are at their learning phase of what sustainability is, and can’t distinguish between real sustainable packages and ones a brand just claims as such. This is going to change soon, as customers get more educated about sustainability.
Megan Douglas, Founder/Product Creator, The Organic Skin Co.
Customers and retailers are demanding authentic sustainable solutions from beauty brands and they don’t want greenwashing. Delivering truly innovative sustainable packaging takes time, creativity and a streamlined manufacturing chain. With packaging rebrands taking up to 2 years to get on shelf, the greatest challenge is to innovate fully, yet move swiftly enough to deliver.
Looking ahead: A customer is more likely to purchase a sustainably packaged beauty product if it looks amazing, it feels great in hand and it still performs as expected. That’s our job as a brand—to genuinely tick all the boxes so that the customer can make the eco-transition and be excited for it.
Our challenge as an industry is to build and back a packaging supply chain that makes the existing non-recyclable packaging model obsolete. Accelerated innovation, team-work and education remain the greatest opportunities, while the challenges remain a lack of awareness (still!) by many to the dangers of non-action.
Tina Hedges, Founder, LOLI Beauty
It’s amazing to see that both Indie and multinational beauty brands are embracing new packaging technologies and acknowledging the urgent need for better solutions than single-use or recycled plastic packaging. We’re thrilled that food-grade, 100% garden compostable solutions, like our mycelium (fungi) material, are being scaled to meet nationwide distribution.
Packaging is an integral part of beauty branding, given its ability to instantly ignite a spectrum of feelings in consumers. Consumers are growing more discerning of the brands they support and the impact of their products on the environment, so it’s critical for the industry to stop “greenwashing” and doubling down on micro changes like “recyclable” plastics when only about 16% of plastics are reprocessed and recycled. One example to consider is the circular packaging model. How can we as an industry eliminate excess packaging, and find innovative ways to repurpose or reuse?
Looking ahead: Managing bottom line profitability is definitely a challenge for a brand of any size to address. New technologies are slow to market, often in MVP stage and are therefore fraught with flaws, demand long lead-times, and are expensive to commercialize. We worked through unprecedented hurdles when launching our mycelium packaging for our ULTA launch. If it weren’t for our buyer and the entire management’s support of our vision, we would not have been able to bring this packaging to market.
From R&D to retailers, PR to creative, everyone needs to band together and understand that sustainable innovations will require unprecedented ways of doing things—the old templates won’t work. It’s also essential that as an industry, we share our learnings and “open source” our technologies. Sustainability is still an imperfect science as for every new solution, there are also compromises or challenges. Working in a black box will not help our industry move at the pace that our planet requires.
Packaging Designers/Developers
Marc Rosen, President, Marc Rosen AssociatesFrankly, the most significant development in sustainable packaging in the last two years is the fact that we are all talking about it! Today, this is the focus of all the beauty companies, suppliers and packaging designers when embarking on a new brand or re-creating an existing brand to fit sustainable criteria. Having attended the Luxe Pack New York show last Fall, it was more than evident that every supplier was talking the talk about sustainable packaging and also walking the walk.
Without doubt, it is the plastics suppliers that have the most difficult situation. Their efforts so far in terms of using partial recyclable plastic or creating refillable jars with inserts is a major step in achieving sustainability. As a designer, the challenge of course is to design packaging that retains the ‘look’ of luxury with the ‘promise’ of sustainability.
Looking ahead: The most important factor for packaging designers is to not lose sight of our primary obligation to our client and to the consumer. Designing beautiful, impactful and appropriate containers for fragrance, skincare and cosmetics that underscores the brand and product within, while at the same time being as sustainable as possible. The goal may be sustainable packaging, but brands beware, there is a fine line between achieving beautiful and creating sustainable. We must balance both to satisfy our mission.
Stephen Corsi, Vice President Packaging Development, Roberts Beauty
Notable developments include new efficient packaging designs, improved material origination (particularly reclaimed Ocean Plastic where Roberts has partnered with category leader Oceanworks) and new resin development which promise more favorable material lifecycle properties. Probably the most significant however, would be the sustainability mandates from organizations such as Sephora, L’Oréal, and Credo Beauty: Directly or indirectly, these seem to be driving a sizable part of the demand we see from brands that come to us for solutions.
Looking ahead: Even though we already have some great sustainability solutions in place, there is still much to do before we completely offset the long-standing problems caused by fossil fuel derived resins, lifecycle energy inefficiencies and end-of-life reclaim/waste management. The biggest challenge is to match solutions to consumer expectations and brand messaging at an acceptable price. Education will continue to be extremely important, particularly between brands and their consumers. Potential U.S. state level Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation and retailer mandates have added extra pressure on brands to find authentic sustainable solutions. By working together and keeping an open dialogue, we can collectively meet these challenges and bring our industry to a better place.
Shayne Tilley, Head of Marketing at 99designs by Vista
Sustainable packaging has become mainstream. Eco-friendly materials are more accessible, and new methods of packaging design, from returnable to reusable, have come onto the scene to minimize waste and maximize usage. With customers now actively seeking sustainable options, brands need to explore these options in order to stay competitive.
Looking ahead: It’s important for brands to keep in mind the role design plays, not only to stand out, but also to educate consumers on their sustainability promises. Transparency is essential for building trust, and design is pivotal to communicating your brand values.
For brands, finding the right packaging and ways to use less material without compromising on quality or aesthetics is an ongoing challenge. Yet this also creates opportunities to discover even better solutions. For consumers, it’s all about accessibility. As more brands produce environmentally conscious products that look good and do good, making greener choices becomes easier and more appealing. (See more from Tilley at BeautyPackaging.com)
Genevieve Lawrence, Director of Sustainability and Impact, Sustainable Global Design Firm MaCher
[One significant change has been] the formation of 30 Certified B Corporations across the globe, in the beauty industry, coming together to form the B Beauty Coalition. The coalition recognizes that addressing packaging impact means working together in a pre-competitive environment with all stakeholders from supply chain, brands and end-of-life recovery.
Looking ahead: There is a lot of learning and unlearning to do, you need to be prepared to shift gears and move away from a solution if new research is showing that it is not as viable as you first thought. As we invest more in understanding the processes of recovery, recycling, material science and refillables, we will also need to be adaptable to what the research is telling us. If the holistic impact is not positive, we need to improve it or seek out a different alternative. Educating consumers along the way with what we are learning will improve our progress. If consumers understand how to responsibly handle packaging, it makes it far easier to recover materials and input back into the supply chain.
Michela Graci, Strategy Partner and Sustainability Champion at Coley Porter Bell
“It’s often said that the most sustainable act you can make is to use the things you already own, and in recent years we’ve seen the beauty industry joining the refill revolution. Consumers accustomed to their refillable water bottles, soap dispensers and coffee pods, want the same with their beauty products. Luxury brands have led the way, limiting single-use products and adopting refillable packaging, without jeopardizing their identifiable design and brand aesthetics.
Looking ahead: At a time when consumers find recycling to be confusing, brands need clear messaging and action. It’s no longer enough for brands to say they ‘do good’, they must prove it or risk disengagement. Consumers are more powerful, knowledgeable and opinionated than ever and they want to see companies reflect their social practice throughout their brand experience, not just the packaging. Historically, the conversation around sustainability focused on the environment, but it’s now broader and embracing aspects of economic development and social equity.
It’s estimated that 70% of carbon emissions associated with the beauty industry could be eliminated by swapping to refillable containers. Brands need to step up–start with improving reuse and extending their sustainable efforts beyond the shelves and looking for cross-industry synergies in technology, supply chain logistics and open sources to ensure sustainable initiatives don’t come at a cost for consumers and rapidly become mainstream.”
Packaging Suppliers
Al Lustrino, President, Inoac Packaging GroupThe ability to recycle resins without making aesthetic and performance sacrifices is the most significant development in many years. This technology not only reduces the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing plastics, it also reduces our dependency on crude oil supply. It is a giant step towards a circular supply chain.
Looking ahead: The greatest sustainability opportunity for brands is to begin considering the end of life options for their products. In order for sustainability to make a significant impact, we need to plan for the reuse of the materials used to make these products. This needs to encompass more than simply using recycled materials. Brands need to design products to be more easily recycled, reused or repurposed.
Kristen K. Duncan, Sustainable Solutions Development Manager, NEENAH
Consumer education and heightened interest in sustainability [have been significant developments]. Consumers now consider the sustainability values of a brand, including tangible things like the recyclability of packaging, as a part of their decision-making process. This often factors heavily into brand loyalty. Social media and influencers also play a big role in perception and how some of this information is shared.
Looking ahead: It’s all about the consumer. There is a heightened awareness around sustainability that brings a new level of attention to packaging. Brands need to exhibit honesty and transparency about not only the materials used, but the recyclability of the decorated packaging, reductions in waste, and other factors that the consumer is passionate about.
JK Park, CEO, CTK Bio Canada, a Division of CTK Korea
In the last two years, the bioplastic space has experienced a tremendous growth, with newer alternatives and a wider range of properties that are slowly being adapted into the replacement of traditional plastics such as ABS, PP and HDPE/LDPE.
Looking ahead: At CTK Bio Canada, we strongly believe that the journey to more sustainable packaging solutions needs to go beyond traditional ineffective recycling and the use of traditional materials made from fossil fuels that at the end of the day contribute to aggravate climate change. Besides the well-known R’s—“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”—we want to add “Renewables” to the mix as another solution for sustainable packaging that significantly decreases the impact on the environment. By “renewables’ we mean including more biodegradable bioplastics into the beauty industry.
Tara Karsten, Sales Director and Key Commercial Sustainability Lead, Yonwoo/PKG
The most significant development has been] the removal of the metal spring in pumps via introduction of all polyolefin pump systems. Utilizing all polyolefin pump systems can enable beauty packaging that was previously thrown away to be recycle-ready.
Looking ahead: The demand for PCR material across all packaging categories is skyrocketing. The challenge is whether supply can meet demand long term. Yonwoo/PKG’s strong partnerships with both new and existing local PCR resin suppliers is critical to meeting the growing demand for PCR from our customers. Looking ahead, brands will be challenged to provide sustainable packaging that conveys the established aesthetic their consumers have come to know and love. Packaging suppliers have the unique opportunity to meet this need. Consumers will require education to change their beauty packaging disposal habits to reflect the shift to recycle-ready packaging.
Sunny Sontakke, COO and VP Sales & Marketing, Global Packaging
The developments being made in the process of chemically recycled resins are quite exciting. This will encourage brands to use FDA-approved PCR more readily with less quality issues. However, we believe that the future of sustainability will, in the end, be more defined by end-consumers’ personal usage and disposal habits.
Looking ahead: With more research and development, the industry is evolving and coming to the realization for a need to apply a more innovative approach when addressing the issue of sustainable packaging. Educating society and putting policies in place for recyclability remains an open challenge. As such, more lightweight plastic, mono-material, refillable, glass, paper, and higher quality recycled resins are shown to be rising in demand. Our role is to capture the innovation and readily offer these as an alternative packaging that can still viably capture the market at large.
Glenn Tatem, Vice President of Package Development, Maesa
Seeing how far we can push wood pulp packaging, such as what is being done with Pulpex and others [has been significant]. First steps are being taken to launch bottles holding liquid; next, explore HBA and begin to use more sustainable and renewable raw materials.
Looking ahead: While we all work on innovation, we need to remain focused on moving what we can to truly sustainable practices. A challenge and also an opportunity will come in brands committing to using more PCR in their products. The challenge will be sustaining and growing this supply chain. The opportunity is we will have a direct influence in creating value in what is now too often “garbage.” The more we use PCR, the more the demand. Once there is value to our materials, they will be recycled, and with this, more industry will fill the supply chain needs. We need to at the same time make “recyclizing” easier to understand and standardize.
Kelly Gardi, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Zignago
The most significant development in sustainable packaging has been the push to switch components from plastic to glass. Now, many glass factories worldwide, after the pause in demand during the pandemic, have long lead-times due to a high demand.
Looking ahead: The source of energy that is used to manufacture components plays a key role in the carbon footprint of a final product. Using renewable energy is as important as using recycled materials when manufacturing. The new mindset on all sides of the spectrum require that products are made with greater respect toward the environment and the communities involved. The challenge lies in meeting increasing demand for products in a sustainable fashion during a context of scarcity and supply chain issues. Opportunities lie in the creation of innovations that respect these values.
Retailer Mia Davis, Vice President of Sustainability and Impact, at ‘Clean Beauty’ retailer Credo
We’re starting to see refillable packaging components for makeup—think refillable compacts, palettes, lipstick bullets—as well as bulk refills for hand soaps and hair products. The most sustainable packaging solutions use far less material, and are designed to last. In addition to being more sustainable, refills bring new opportunities for customer loyalty and creative merchandising.
Looking ahead: There is no silver bullet when it comes to more sustainable beauty packaging. On top of fundamental considerations (like look & feel, cost of goods) brands and customers are faced with a real lack of information from suppliers about material sources, resins used and end-of-life realities. One of the most important things we need to do as an industry is clearly identify plastic types on packaging, and not imply they will be recycled when there is little-to-no chance they will be. (No more chasing arrows on plastic that is not accepted at MRFs.) When a customer is left holding a bottle, pump and cap, they need to know what they’re made of so they can know how to dispose of them. The time for making excuses about this (“it isn’t usually done,” “the package is too small”) is past. Let’s move forward.
Packaging Organizations Dan Felton, Executive Director, AMERIPEN
One of the most significant developments for sustainable packaging in the U.S. has been increased legislation and now new laws for packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR). This means additional costs for the entire value chain and companies should be engaged to recognize the value of recycled and reusable packaging—key growth areas for beauty packaging.
Looking ahead: Legislation is rapidly advancing EPR and recycled content mandates in the U.S. Between legislative demand for increased recycled content and voluntary corporate goals, market pressures on materials will increase. AMERIPEN completed a study in 2021 that identified a significant gap between demand and available capacity and supply for recycled content. We need collaboration among the packaging industry, brands, and government to identify the policy, social and economic solutions to get us towards a circular packaging system while recognizing today’s challenges in the system. Failure to have this dialogue may cause unintended consequences and disruption of our advancement towards increasing packaging sustainability and circularity. (See Felton’s article on page 74 of this issue.)
Adam Ryan, Head of Pentawards
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen an increasing sophistication of sustainable packaging in terms of how it incorporates luxury and premium cues that engage consumers, while still being sustainable. It’s moving way on from recycled cardboard and natural color palettes to incorporate more sophisticated materials, including sustainable inks, finishes and printing processes—which has huge benefits for beauty brands who want to be both sustainable and premium.
Looking ahead: We know from consumers that they increasingly want to engage with brands who can demonstrate their sustainable credentials. With this in mind, sustainable packaging can no longer be an option or a ‘nice to have’ for beauty brands. The biggest challenge the industry now has is working out how to incorporate sustainability into their brand and packaging in a way that rings true for consumers’ impression of the brand. Crucially, they need to avoid greenwashing at all costs as consumers are increasingly savvy about sniffing that out and are willing to boycott or take to social media to shout about inauthentic brands. However, the big opportunity is to fold sustainability into your packaging in such a way that it takes consumers with you on your journey to becoming more sustainable, builds a story and narrative around it that elevates your brand in the long run.
3 Brands with Innovative, Sustainable Packaging
Jillian Wright, Vice President, Willow Beauties and Master Aesthetician at Jillian Wright Facials shares her take.Wright points to The Handmade Soap Company, whose heat and electricity are generated by a hydro-turbine. She says Donagh, the founder went from two pots and pans from his kitchen to purchasing and upcycling a 200-year old linen mill fitted with repurposed stills. Their Anam collection has the world’s first compostable refill for liquid washes and lotions. All inbound packaging is shredded to become their outbound packaging. They avoid single-use plastic. All bottles are 100% post-consumer recycled & recyclable. Another example: The outer packaging of Suki Skincare is made of discarded fruit rinds.
Fig-1 is a brand that just landed at Walmart, says Wright, and they have a refillable, recyclable system and even show you how to recycle their product online.
