2021 is the first year of the China “Fourteenth Five Year Plan” and also the turning point of the cosmetics industry. In the past two years, the competition in the cosmetics industry has intensified, and the momentum of environmental protection has become more and more strong. Many enterprises have actively or passively joined in the cause of environmental protection, making a contribution to the environment while seeking a way out for their own sustainable development.
Arcade Beauty, a beauty product sample manufacturer, for example, recently announced that it has developed a recyclable PE (polyethylene) packaging bag for L’Oreal Paris, the largest beauty brand under L’Oreal. Coincidentally, last week, L’Oreal announced that it would launch innovative cosmetic packaging bottles, which are planned to be put into production in 2025.
In combination with the “environmental protection actions” of other brands, we found that the replacement of packaging materials was their usual response, such as the use of soluble packaging, 100% recycled plastic, etc.
Previously, foreign media reported that some brands had developed the technology of using bacterial cellulose to make plastic packaging paper instead of cosmetics. Bacterial cellulose, also known as “microbial cellulose”, has good biological adaptability and degradability, and is a cutting-edge technology to reduce environmental pollution.
It can be seen that packaging environmental protection is an inevitable trend in the development of cosmetics, and it is also an important technology for brands to enhance their competitiveness. In fact, in addition to packaging, we can also start from raw materials, processes, logistics and other aspects.
In February this year, 36 global beauty and personal care enterprises and associations led by L’Or é al, a beauty giant, Henkel, a German family personal care giant, LVMH, a French luxury goods giant, and Unilever, a consumer goods giant, announced the establishment of the Eco Beauty Score Consortium alliance.
In order to achieve the goal of sharing beauty with nature, beauty groups have not only made efforts to establish the Eco Beauty Score Consortium.
Tons of plastics are being recycled, reusable or renewable packaging materials and replacement packaging are being produced… In fact, we have already been in the wave of sustainable development.
Today, let’s take a look at the changes quietly taking place in the beauty, skin care and household care products around us.
Estee Lauder
The beauty giant Estee Lauder Group has also made great efforts in sustainable packaging.
By signing a “global memorandum of understanding” with Eastman, a special material provider, Estee Lauder Group will use packaging solutions supported by Eastman’s molecular recycling technology and the Renew resin product portfolio with 100% certified recycled ingredients, and promises to achieve 75-100% recyclable, reloadable, reusable, recyclable or recyclable packaging by 2025.
Loreal
At the beginning of March this year, L’Or é al and Texen, the packaging manufacturer, jointly developed a new generation of bottle caps made of 100% recycled polypropylene (rPP) for Bioquan, a beauty giant. The feature is that it is suitable for different container shapes, and all surfaces are hot stamped without overlapping, thus avoiding the use of clear oil. The cap can be applied to Biotherm skincare products, including Cera Repair and Blue Therapy.
L’Oreal also cooperates with Veolia to provide high-quality recycled plastics for its global product packaging and reduce the carbon footprint of cosmetics packaging. Compared with standard packaging bottles, cosmetic packaging made of recycled plastic can avoid 50% to 70% of carbon dioxide emissions. L’Oreal promises to recycle all plastics used for packaging or bio based plastics by 2030.
Henkel, Germany
Henkel has a leading innovation, strong brand and advanced technology in the world. Its main business is distributed in three business segments: adhesive technology, cosmetics/beauty products, detergents and home care.
Henkel launched a new Persil cleaning package, which is made of 50% recycled polypropylene (rPP), which is recycled from household plastic waste.
The new Persil packaging produced by Greiner Packaging, which includes cardboard packaging and a plastic container, is easy to separate and recycle based on its innovative stripping system.
The package uses a double-layer process to create a new design. The interior of the plastic container is made of white primary materials to ensure a high-quality appearance, and the outer layer of the packaging is made of rPP after consumption. The gray color of this layer has no effect on the appearance of the package, because it is wrapped by a printable cardboard layer, which can achieve an attractive appearance.
“Through the use of rPP materials, we have taken an important step forward in the sustainability of paper and plastic packaging materials. In view of our innovative double-layer process, the packaging can not only reach a very high sustainability standard, but also ensure the aesthetics of the packaging.” Andreas Auinger, international project manager, said.
The Schwarzkopf brand under Henkel will also re launch the Schauma washing and care series in February 2022. The redesigned bottle can show consumers a clearer and more personalized package. The opaque bottle body of the new package contains 50% recycled plastic, while the transparent bottle body is composed of at least 98% recycled plastic, and neither of them contains labels. According to the company, Schauma bottle caps are also made of 25% recycled plastic.
Unilever
Unilever, which helped to create a plastic circular economy, changed its plastic packaging method with the idea of “reducing, optimizing and zero plastic”. Volume reduction: set up shampoo and detergent replenishment stations in shops, universities and mobile vending machines in Southeast Asia to directly reduce the use of plastic packaging. (The use of 10 times super concentrated and replenished Jingjie detergent reduces the use of plastic by 75% compared with the standard bottle) Optimization: develop new detectable black pigments and apply them to brands such as Lingshi and Xuanshi, so that they can be identified and classified in the recycling plant for recycling. Zero plastic: Dove anti perspiration cream products use stainless steel packaging technology and refillable packaging to reduce the use of plastic, and provide life-long warranty service for the shell to maximize the use of resources.
Bayersdorf
Beiersdorf, Germany, conducts green and sustainable development and integration of product packaging in Shanghai Innovation Center – to meet the requirements of 100% refillable, reusable or recyclable, using recycled materials, and optimizing the design to achieve lightweight packaging.
Nivea, its brand, said that from June 2022, the packaging of Nivea’s natural and good facial care product series will be made of SABIC’s “certified renewable” PP. It is said that each tank can save about 76 grams of carbon dioxide, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 60% compared with fossil tanks.
“Certified renewable plastics purchased from SABIC have no visual effect or other poor performance. Therefore, cans made of renewable PP cannot be visually distinguished from previous packaging. In addition, SABIC pursues the overall sustainable development approach through its raw material concept. This convinced us.” Hannah Rasel, senior packaging expert at Bayersdorf, added.
As part of the commitment of Beiersdorf Plastics, Nivea’s parent company, the commitment set the following goals for 2025: make its packaging 100% reusable, refillable or recyclable, increase the recycled plastic content in plastic packaging to 30%, and reduce the use of chemical stone based original plastics by 50%
Reducing carbon emissions is the most direct way. Therefore, if the logistics transportation is low-carbon throughout the whole process, the burden on the environment will be greatly reduced. For example, AmorePacific’s brands have reduced the use of cushioning materials, turned to air bags to replace foam, and used plant fiber tape that can be naturally degraded in a short time to replace traditional tape. The packaging and transportation process alone is much more environmentally friendly than before.
In a word, environmental protection has become a hot topic of discussion today. Today’s consumers, in order to express their support for environmental protection, basically have a “good opinion” of this kind of cosmetics. Therefore, regardless of the size of your own enterprise, it is always right to use more snacks on environmental protection!
