Cosmetics Business Packaging Live: “Sustainable yet appealing packaging is biggest challenge in cosmetics”
22 Oct 2019 --- 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. This was the primary takeaway from the inaugural Cosmetics Business Packaging Live conference in Barcelona last week (October 8-9). 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.
“More so than the food and drinks industries, 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, tells PackagingInsights.
At the event, she presented a sustainability seminar, highlighting how certifications can be used to verify and communicate achievements in sustainability. Cionci explains that they are tangible tools available to organizations that provide independent verification that products, packaging or processes are sustainable. “Authentic certification is also a valuable marketing tool – offering a recognizable stamp of approval to consumers seeking more sustainable products,” she adds.
A key example given at the seminar was “Plastic Planet’s Plastic Free Trust Mark,” which Control Union recently began certifying. The Mark has been adopted by numerous brands, including teapigs, Percol and PieMinister, to demonstrate to consumers that their products and packaging are 100 percent plastic-free.
Federica Cionci, Project Coordinator at Control Union UK.A consumer shift
Sustainability and respect for the environment have become vitally important in the eyes of consumers, notes Cionci. There’s an emerging market for products that are more natural, organic and environmentally friendly. “Consumers are paying a lot of attention to what they buy, especially in the field of cosmetics and beauty products, where the main focus is on ingredients and packaging. This is forcing industries to react, rethink and improve their environmental performance by setting goals, developing new policies and adopting new strategies,” she adds.
Her seminar also highlighted ways to recycle existing plastic to reuse its useful properties and avoid producing new plastic. “Chemical recycling of plastic will definitely play a key role in the long and medium-term future – it’ll surely help to overcome the limits of traditional recycling but, at the same time, is limited by the availability of structures able to perform those processes,” she says.
Cionci also notes that recycling structures will have to be up with the times in order to become more efficient and make those processes more cost-effective, and the packaging designers will have to consider recyclability as a key point in their design work. Additionally, there is a long list of new generation plastic-free and compostable materials that have the same – and often better – characteristics as plastic, she argues.
“Research in this field is extremely active and almost every day we are seeing new eco-friendly materials being developed and synthesized from natural and renewable sources. The primary challenge that limits the adoption of these new materials is the cost of the research, and the subsequent higher costs of the materials, making them less appealing to some producers. As demand and production of alternatives increases, however, this seems like it will only be a temporary issue,” Cionci says.
She concludes that ultimately, it will be up to the cosmetic industry to research and promote the use of new materials and designs because it will become harder and harder to justify the use of single-use packaging, even if recyclable.
Earlier this month, the Plastic Health Summit brought together experts to consider the impact on health of BPA, PFAS, phthalates and other chemical additives commonly found in plastic. Meanwhile, a report argued that government backing is crucial to slashing plastic pollution by increasing access to reusable options.
By Katherine Durrell
