Personal care packagers balance beauty and sustainability while tackling functionality challenges

In the personal care industry, packaging providers and beauty companies innovate to balance the tension between attractive design, brand experience, and materials that soothe the demand for environmentally sustainable packaging.

Packaging design can enhance brand identity, making products stand out in a crowded market. Innova Markets Insights data has identified “Enhancing Aesthetics” as a top beauty trend of 2025, with 37% of consumers globally saying packaging plays a role when purchasing makeup.

Meanwhile, the personal care industry is responsible for large amounts of waste from single-use packages. According to The British Beauty Council, 95% of cosmetics packaging in the UK is discarded. Moreover, Innova Market Insights data indicates that in the past year, more than 34% of consumers globally consider environmentally friendly packaging, such as those with biodegradable materials, when buying personal care products.

Packaging Insights speaks to Dow, Albéa Group, TNT Group, and Cosmogen to discuss materials and design in personal care packaging that  aims to address the growing demand for eco-friendly options. We also discuss the challenges in adjusting packaging design that meets sustainability needs as well as functionality, costs, and access to technology.  

Material innovation

Albéa’s EcoTop family caps fuses the head and cap together (Image credit: Albéa).Personal packaging that is both appealing and eco-friendly often hinges on the materials and their successful incorporation.

Imran Munshi, global market segment leader at Dow, says: “It is clear there should be no tradeoff between aesthetics and sustainability, and consumers are increasingly expecting both. Innovative materials science can help brands remain on the cutting edge of design while delivering the sustainability and packaging performance that buyers demand.” 

Dow’s Surlyn ionomers are made from bio-based materials, like used cooking oil, rather than fossil fuels, facilitating environmental sustainability in perfume and cosmetic packaging. The containers can be molded into complex shapes with a transparent, glossy, and soft finish. 

Caroline Hughes, global marketing manager at Albéa Tubes, and Aline Roland, marketing director at Albéa Cosmetics, note that eco-friendly materials can enhance packaging design. However, they also highlight the challenge of using new materials that may perform differently in production than traditional ones.

“Using new materials involves extensive research and development to ensure these materials meet both aesthetic and functional requirements. Recycled materials can vary in quality and appearance, affecting the final look of the packaging. Our objective is to ensure consistency and quality while using recycled content,” says Hughes. 

Aluminum, zamak, and marble are some materials that have surged in the packaging industry. For luxury packaging provider TNT Group, aesthetic design and environmentally conscious materials need not be opposites. 

Albéa’s Polaris is a refillable plastic jar (Image credit: Albéa).“Luxury is sustainable by nature. The craftsmanship and quality of the raw materials used in luxury products have historically originated iconic, long-lasting pieces. Sophisticated shapes, sensory appeal, natural textures, and colors subtly communicate sustainability,” says Thomas Diezinger, co-founder and CEO at TNT Group. 

Zamak is a recyclable zinc alloy suitable for die-casting. Its shiny metallic finish, similar to aluminum, is commonly used in personal care packaging, conveying opulence and sophistication.

For example, TNT has created refillable aluminum solutions for premium cosmetic company Westman Atelier and lipstick cases for France-based makeup brand Sisley. 

Design and branding 

As companies switch to eco-friendly materials, differentiation and uniqueness from other products are challenging for packaging providers. 

“Design and decoration play an important role here. Today, packaging needs to combine sustainability, aesthetics, emotions, and functionality while allowing differentiation and brand recognition,” says Hughes. 

Albéa recently launched Polaris, a refillable plastic jar made of monomaterial PP. The jar boasts a “unique and sophisticated” design, with a cap attached to the base via an invisible hinge. Roland comments: “Personal care packaging needs to be disruptive and, at the same time, aligned to market trends by striking a balance between innovation, market, and consumers’ demands.” 

Maud Lelièvre, marketing and communication director at Cosmogen, also indicates how packaging design is instrumental to a product’s uniqueness and success. 

Cosmogens’ Needle Tube (Image credit: Cosmogen).“We’re in the world of beauty, premium, and luxury. So, it’s obvious to us that packaging aesthetics are essential. It is one of the parameters considered in developing our innovations, functionality, and sustainability.”

Cosmogens’ Needle Tube, used by Dior for its Capture Totale Hyalushot, features aluminum packaging that preserves the formula and allows for precise application.

“Packaging plays a fundamentally differentiating role in the form of a promise of a special moment. When a product is beautiful, it is more visible and therefore more successful,” continues Lelièvre. 

Dow’s Munshi indicates that while renewable materials are essential, the Surlyn Ren ensures “no compromise on moldability on complication shapes.” The resin provides chemical and scratch resistance, producing “highly creative and aesthetically beautiful packaging” for perfume caps and cream jars. 

Balancing sustainable packaging with brand identity is challenging for providers. Design is essential as it strengthens brand identity, enhances customer experience, and communicates product quality.

Functionality and technology 

TNT’s CEO Thomas Diezinger says that design features, like embellishments and coatings, that enhance visual or sensory appeal, come with sustainability challenges. 

Yet, “adopting an eco-design approach from the beginning of the project like modular, refillable, and monomaterial designs can improve recyclability and sustainability,” says Diezinger.

Albéa also acknowledges the challenge of new technological production processes. Implementing eco-friendly production methods often necessitates investing in new technologies and production lines that are cost-efficient and time-consuming. 

However, Roland asserts that it is a new technology that facilitates weight reduction in packaging and allows recycled content integration of materials into a visually appealing design. 

TNT’s refillable aluminum lipstick case for Sisley (Image credit: TNT).Moreover, Roland stresses the importance of packaging being beautiful, environmentally conscious, and “inclusive, intuitive, and easy to open.” When packaging is designed with user access in mind, it encourages repeat purchases and confidence in the brand. 

“If we want consumers to adopt more responsible habits actively, aesthetics alone is not enough. The consumer experience and especially the user-friendliness of the product is crucial. When it comes to our refillable solutions, our role is, therefore, to make them simple and understandable,” says Roland. 

Cosmogen echoes this focus on simplicity and user-friendliness. It tackles functionality challenges by offering scalable, turnkey packaging solutions that prioritize elegance and practicality.

Lelièvre says, “We [Cosmogen] present customers with various options, including the proportion of recycled materials that enable them to compare and make informed decisions. Our strength lies in our upstream work to propose elegant, functional, and relevant packaging.”

Ultimately, personal care packaging must balance aesthetics, functionality, and environmental awareness. As consumers increasingly demand eco-friendly options, packaging providers can embrace alternative materials that meet environmental goals, brand differentiation, and customer experience.  

Diezinger concludes: “Luxury beauty and cosmetic packaging is embracing sustainability, personalization, and innovative materials. Refillable solutions and recyclable, recycled, and upcycled materials are becoming increasingly prevalent without compromising the high-end look.”