As wood as it gets: Urth Organic launches wooden closure enhanced skin care packs

26 Mar 2020 --- Urth Organic’s new packaging boasts a greener profile as the line now includes wooden caps and tops. The green colored containers with the wooden additions reflect the purity of ingredients within the formulations, according to the company. With the new packaging, Urth says it seeks to compliment the level of purity it wants to provide to its customers, while its white pumps indicate a level of clean beauty and luxury.

“Urth is a brand of organic products committed to skin care, employing nutrients from the earth with high quality. The brand stands out for its components that enhance the base values of Urth, from which the love for the Earth is pronounced. We created printed packaging with patterns including green and brown tones arising from the abstraction of an ecosystem inspired by the gems of nature. One of these gems is Chaga, which is part of the ingredients in the products formula,” an Urth spokesperson says.

The Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) is a type of fungus that grows mainly on the bark of birch trees. It is generally considered a nutrient rich superfood but research is still exploring its potential.

The brand strongly believes that caring for one’s own health is equally as important as caring for the planet and community. “Our philosophy for creating this symbiosis is at the root of everything we do and how we live our lives. All with a light-hearted smile. Your body, mind, spirit and planet are a temple for us all,” the company notes.

Urth Organic’s new packaging boasts a greener profile as the line now includes wooden caps and tops.Urth harnesses the natural healing properties of pure botanical and superfood ingredients combined with advanced technology to create formulas alive with potent antioxidants that nourish, protect and rejuvenate the skin.

Environmentally-friendly beauty
As global efforts for sustainability are impacting every industry, the personal care space is increasingly feeling the pressure to comply. The primary takeaway from the inaugural Cosmetics Business Packaging Live conference in Barcelona October was that it is more important than ever that the cosmetics industry strives toward being environmentally-friendly, with sustainability ultimately spearheading what should influence all choices in the field. Plastics are a particular point of contention, although innovative materials that could be viable substitutes are an exciting prospect for the industry and could arguably reduce threats to public health and the environment.

“Cosmetics producers and brands seem to be paying much closer attention to formulations and packaging in order to ensure the sourcing of sustainable and organic ingredients and the development of functional, sustainable yet appealing packaging. The latter seems to be the hardest challenge: reduce the excesses and favor recycled or plastic-free materials yet maintaining the same level of functionality and style,” Federica Cionci, Project Coordinator at Control Union UK, told PackagingInsights. 

The sentiment was mirrored by Incosmetics Global Summit 2019 attendees and speakers. “Sustainability is very much linked to packaging but this also requires the right approach,” Amit Tewari, Group Leader, Phytochemical Ingredient Science at L’Oréal Research and Innovation, told PackagingInsights. “A product’s concept is accompanied by the packaging and a sustainable approach to it needs to reflect that as well. However, it remains to be seen what sustainable packaging really entails,” he adds.

In this same spirit, cosmetics mega brand, L’oreal launched Seed Phytonutrients last year. The range combines sustainable ingredient sourcing with a landmark shift toward paper packaging. The products come in a shower-friendly paper that is both recyclable and compostable. This is a first for the industry, coming from a beauty behemoth like L’Oréal. 

Many brands are looking for novel approaches to boost their eco-friendly profiles. Stora Enso launched a paperboard tube for cosmetics as a sustainable alternative to plastic tubes. The paperboard tube is suitable for the primary packaging of skin cream products and marks a step away from less environmentally-friendly materials, although 30 percent of the tube does still consist of plastic.

Meanwhile, German multinational Beiersdorf, specializing in skin care products, recently developed cosmetic bottles made of 100 percent recycled polyethylene (PE) for its Nivea brand. The launch is part of the company’s Recyclist project and the result of a collaboration between the Fraunhofer IVV, Fraunhofer IWKS, and Pla.to. Fraunhofer IVV developed a “comprehensive recycling concept” for Beiersdorf with the aim of reusing high-quality PE recyclates to produce packaging for toiletries and cosmetic products.

Edited by Kristiana Lalou