Squeeze Smarter: Beauty Tubes Get a Sustainable Makeover

One of the biggest trends impacting beauty tubes—and arguably, every other packaging segment—is a heightened focus on sustainability driven by increased regulatory pressure and an evolving Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) landscape. Consumers are also wiser about “greenwashed” sustainability claims. This means a brand’s packaging choice represents a critical, tangible touchpoint for trust—a point affirmed by Mintel’s 2026 Global Packaging Predictions report. It states, “Simplicity, transparency, and circularity will define the next generation of trusted brands.”  

Some brands are considering swaps to more eco-conscious packaging materials as part of their “greenovation.” One such alternative material is Grastic from SP Global Packaging. Grastic is a plastic-free, 100% biodegradable composite material made entirely from corn starch and naturally derived biodegradable ingredients. The company is currently in the process of creating new tubes made of Grastic.

Mono-materials are another important pathway for sustainable tube innovation. According to Towards Packaging, the mono-material cosmetic tubes market is projected to grow. It will rise from $1.8 billion in 2025 to $3.89 billion by 2035 at a CAGR of 8%. Moira Stein, Insights & Strategy at Berlin Packaging, notes the growth forecast. “Consumers are becoming more eco-savvy and aware of greenwashing. Making simple and substantiated sustainability credentials increasingly important,” she says. 

Berlin Packaging’s Studio One Eleven innovation team has dedicated sustainability personnel. The team conducts lifecycle analyses (LCAs) to calculate a tube package’s environmental footprint. The analyses includes greenhouse gas emissions, and water, mineral resource, and fossil fuel use. 

“This provides quantifiable data that brands can use to make informed packaging choices,” Stein says. “We also help with messaging strategies, leveraging the LCA data to develop tangible claims that reduce consumer confusion and skepticism.”

Squeezable Bottles Stand in for Beauty Tubes

One of Studio One Eleven’s latest achievements is the tube packaging developed for The Ordinary’s Squalene + Amino Acid Lip Balm. And, it’s unlike any tube on the market. “The custom teardrop silhouette stands out in a sea of traditional long, thin tubes,” Stein says. “Our engineering team tested several bottle materials before determining that LDPE provided optimal squeezability.” 

The squeezable bottles are minimally decorated with a double spray of soft-touch coating for an optimized user experience. Next, it’s screen-printed with branding. A custom closure complements the bottle shape. The closure incorporates a two-lead thread, which allows consumers to remove the cap with a single turn of the wrist. 

A Move Toward Simpler Structures

Cynthia Huang, COO, UDN Packaging Corp., agrees about the importance of mono-material and recyclable packaging solutions. She adds that brands are actively seeking solutions that balance environmental responsibility with performance and aesthetics.

Stephen Corsi, Global Head of Engineering, Group IBG, shares that view. He says that the push for true recyclability is “forcing the industry to move beyond sustainability claims.” Corsi explains that the industry is moving toward simpler structures and higher PCR use. “And mono-material solutions that can work in real-world recycling streams,” he adds.

But simple doesn’t mean boring. UDN and IBG both believe that a combination of practical sustainability and elevated aesthetics is the way forward. 

Playful Styles

Huang has seen a strong rise in what she calls emotion-driven and experience-led packaging. “Consumers today are increasingly drawn to packaging that feels fun, fresh, and engaging. In-demand designs that deliver emotional value, create a sense of connection, and carry social or shareable appeal,” she explains. “Packaging is no longer just functional, but part of the overall product experience.”

An example is UDN’s interactive “Kissing Tube” concept that features two tubes playfully connected by their caps. Consumers can carry it as two-in-one unit or can detach the products according to their preference.  

UDN has also collaborated with e.l.f. Cosmetics in the development of a soft applicator tube for the brand’s Glow Reviver Melting Lip Balm range. The compact tube features a soft applicator tip. It enhances precision and user comfort. The tip is accented with a custom decoration that aligns with the brand’s youthful and playful identity.

Balancing Responsibility with Creativity

Huang says carefully selected materials help balance the product’s performance and sustainability considerations. She highlights how innovative tube design can elevate both product functionality and brand experience.

“The future of tube packaging lies in balancing responsibility with creativity—where sustainability meets emotion, and function meets experience,” she says.

For IBG, success means hitting the mark on several key goals. “We focus on tube solutions that deliver strong shelf impact, compatibility with evolving recycling goals, and [provide] the flexibility to support a wide range of formulas, formats, and decoration needs,” Corsi says.

IBG has been expanding its expertise and capabilities in next-generation, direct-to-shape digital printing. “By eliminating secondary labels and foil stamping, we can achieve photorealistic gradients, iridescent finishes, and soft pastels directly on the tube,” he explains. “This assures the entire package remains 100% recyclable while looking incredibly modern and shareable on social media.”

CCL Industries has launched 100% PCR tubes and airless tubes made from mono-materials. “Tubes made from PCR offer another use of the material, avoiding the landfill,” says Rick Zierer, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing. 

The Importance of Applicators

Marrying the right applicator to the right tube is an important consideration. And it’s not just to facilitate product application, but also to help brands carve out a unique point of differentiation. 

“We’re seeing increased demand for solutions like scalp applicators, noses and TPE lip tips. These offer more precise and elevated, sensorial application experiences,” comments Melanie Gaudun, Business Development and Marketing Manager, Viva Healthcare Packaging, which specializes in mono-material polypropylene (PP) tube solutions. “This shift is a response to consumers’ growing expectation for performance and ease of use, particularly in targeted treatments and skincare categories.

Viva designs and manufactures its own closures and applicators for its beauty tubes, enabling features such as oriented flip-top caps and seamless component integration. The company recently introduced a precision TPE lip tip. It has a rounded shoulder for D19 tube applications, designed to enhance application control while delivering a softer, more premium sensory feel for consumers.

Home fragrance and home goods company Mavwicks turned to Viva to manufacture and decorate tubes for its range of understatedly elegant lip balms. The design is simple but impactful. It features a black PP tube and cap with crisp white artwork for strong contrast and shelf presence. Gaudun says the tube has a soft TPE lip tip with a 2mm orifice. This delivers a controlled, targeted application with a comforting user experience. A softer PP in the tube enhances the ease of the squeeze for consumers, important in small tubes like this one.

Looking ahead, Viva is preparing to launch mono-material PE laminate tubes. Gaudun says will provide more recycle-ready options for formulations requiring enhanced barrier protection without compromising performance, functionality, or aesthetic impact. 

Custom Styles

Tubes with custom applicator tips, head-styles, and closures from GPI Beauty emphasize a heightened user experience in form and function. “We have definitely seen an uptick in customers looking to enhance and differentiate the customer experience. This includes application, texture, dosage, and effect (cooling, etc.),” says the company’s Bruce Sperling, EVP Business Development. He notes that the company’s business model allows for quick change-overs to support high SKU proliferation, as well as the ability to design and build customized head-styles and closures in 60-90 days. 

GPI Beauty recently partnered with SkinMedica to develop a custom tube package that elevates both functionality and shelf presence. Designed in both 6oz and 2oz fill sizes, the package features a custom molded head-style and a three-piece in-mold matte cap with an inserted aluminum disc to create a substantial, premium feel in hand. Sperling says both sizes utilize a shared closure system, delivering a consistent brand identity while improving manufacturing efficiency.

Elevated Looks

Tubes are one packaging format set to benefit from the convergence of premiumization and enhancing the consumer experience, according to Caroline Hughes, Global Marketing and Communication Manager, Albéa Tubes.

“Consumers are seeking joyful, uplifting moments–so called ‘me’ moments–to escape the anxieties of inflation and daily stress. Packaging plays a crucial role here: people are looking for products that offer unique experiences through innovative structures, tactile sensations, and new gestures, all while maintaining an accessible price point,” she says. “There is a strong desire for tubes that look and feel high-end, even if they do not carry a luxury price tag.” 

Albéa Tubes’ specialties lie in offering both laminate and extruded tube technologies for beauty tubes. The supplier pairs these capabilities with its strong commitment to sustainability. The company’s extensive portfolio features a wide range of responsible solutions. Plus, an extensive offer of decoration options to help brands stand out on the shelf. This year, the company achieved a key packaging circularity milestone. The supplier added Greenleaf PCR to its portfolio. The tube material is made with 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in the sleeve. It is also optimized for sorting and recycling in the HDPE stream.

More Popular Decorations

Some of the most popular decoration requests fielded by ICONS America, a specialist in injection molded In-Mold Label (IML) tubes, are vibrant, high-end glossy, metallic and holographic finishes for tubes, and matte tubes with minimal deco. 

“One of our latest innovations in tube decoration is our stunning soft touch + gloss combo finish and our metallic + matte combo finish IML tubes,” says Marianna Cilauro, the company’s VP of Sales and Marketing. “Manufactured in our ICONS America facility in North Carolina, the Made in USA IML tubes are available in gloss, matte, soft-touch, and combo finishes.”

ICONS America’s IML technology provided Hook Ya with clean, detailed, luxurious graphics from shoulder to crimp. “This fully recyclable monomaterial PP InMold Label (IML) tube and cap is manufactured in the USA using domestically sourced resin,” Cilauro explains. 

Hook Ya’s 3oz and 6oz tubes use IML labels with gloss varnish. “The digital printing is great for detailed designs like the mermaid on the front of the tube,” she says. “With the digital printing process we can combine four-color process as well as print to match a Pantone color. Matching specific Pantone colors was a challenge we were able to meet.”

Material Options are Plentiful

ICONS America specializes in a wide variety of tubes in a variety of materials, sizes, innovative applicators, sustainable mono-material options, available with PCR, and in sugarcane and ocean plastic. “ICONS America Ocean Plastic tubes come from recycled HDPE pulled directly from the ocean, and maritime waste, including fishing nets, ropes, and trawls, rather than ocean-bound plastic,” Cilauro says, adding that tubes are REACH and Proposition 65 compliant.

To help brands take their sustainability efforts even further, the company has also incorporated eco-friendly decoration and finish options into many of the tube products it has developed, such as in-mold matte caps and caps with custom embossed or debossed designs.

Uplifting and enhancing the user experience is a top priority for SR Packaging. Sophie Tu, the company’s Marketing Director, says TPE tubes for lip products are a great example of how a simple material change can elevate the entire packaging and deepen the consumer’s connection with the product. 

“While traditional lip gloss tubes often rely on rigid PE slanted tips—which get the job done and are still an industry standard—upgrading to TPE makes a world of difference,” she says. “It significantly softens the application feel on the lips while instantly upgrading the visual presentation of the product.” 

One of SR Packaging’s recent tube brand partnerships was with Summer Fridays for the brand’s Lip Butter Balm. The 0.75-inch packaging tubes are specially color-matched to the brand’s iconic lip balm colors and feature white silkscreen printing for a clear and bold statement. 

Unexpected Elements

Another example is the use of practical yet unexpected elements. The company’s “UV-Alarm” tube, for example, highlights the dangers of UV exposure and serves as a built-in reminder for users to apply their sunscreen the moment they step outside. “By integrating photochromic dyes directly into the plastic, we’ve created a responsive compound that visibly changes color when exposed to UV light—turning a simple tube into an active skincare tool,” she says. 

JSN Industries has also observed a continuing demand for secondary tube decoration, both silk screen and hot stamp. “We’re seeing it in new products, but overwhelming refreshment of existing SKUs of large brands,” says the company’s Sandy Nagel, Vice President, adding that the company has responded by adding new equipment that delivers better lead times and quicker overall responses. 

And finally, in April, Amcor Rigid Packaging Solutions North America announced it had launched new capacity for its DecoFusion hybrid tube technology. Multiple new production lines are set to enable premium graphics, seamless construction, and fast integration for the company’s North American customers.

DecoFusion technology brings vivid packaging to life, with features like 360-degree decoration and over-the-shoulder printing for full graphic coverage at label quality. Additionally, customizable closures can align with graphics on the tube, and barrier layer options can extend shelf life.

To meet consumers’ growing interest in more sustainable product packaging, DecoFusion tubes can incorporate up to 75% PCR content.

“DecoFusion technology offers our tube customers more sustainable options that help them meet consumers’ rising expectations for a premium look and feel, and ease of use,” concludes Brian Jacobi, the company’s Vice President and General Manager of Sales.