Household packagers raise the bar on reusables as consumers slowly accept change

07 Sep 2022 --- Household packaging is experiencing a shift toward more environmental sustainability, minimizing packaging material and developing recyclable, refillable and reusable packaging solutions. PackagingInsights explores the latest trends in household packaging with experts from SP Group (SPG), Henkel and Berry Global.

To reduce packaging waste and to establish closed material cycles, household packaging companies need to reduce packaging material per se, enable the recyclability and reuse of their packaging and increase the use of recycled material, stresses Dannielle Borger, head of packaging sustainability laundry and home care at Henkel. 

“The aim for packaging reduction often leads to new product and packaging designs, such as more concentrated products that require less packaging material. A current example is our Persil Power Bars. These are highly compressed laundry detergent tabs in paper-based packaging,” she explains. 

“We are increasingly focusing on refill concepts and offer refill pouches for a large number of our consumer goods products, for example, for our bath and window cleaner biff and Sidolin in Germany.”

Persil Power Bars in paper-based packaging. Environmental sustainability in focus
A spokesperson at SPG adds that the main trend the company is currently noticing is various forms of sustainability. “An increasing number of enterprises are looking for recyclable packaging solutions that can fit in a circular economy system. Along the same line, packaging made with recycled materials is another of the requests we are observing.”

SPG highlights it contributes to reducing global warming in two ways: Digital printing uses biodegradable inks, and these printings are optimized to consume less energy.

“Generally, the main drive is sustainability, typically in light weighting, recyclability and reuse or refill. As part of this, we see companies appreciate the benefits of plastics over alternative materials in terms of both cost and environmental impact,” explains Brian Lodge, UK design director, Berry Global CPI.

“Berry is designing and manufacturing many products to satisfy the sustainability trend, including our B Circular range of lighter, recyclable packs and our range of pumps and sprays designed in monomaterial and are fully recyclable.”

Economic challenges 
Loge adds that another trend he has been observing is graphics, with brands seeking to make products look more “authentic” by using a traditional name or graphic presentation, “natural” by mimicking natural materials in print form, or “nostalgia” by using design iconography from past eras – art deco, the 50s and 60s are particularly popular at the moment.” 

With the current economic challenges, the company is also seeing customers seeking ‘value’ packaging with solutions that are more cost-effective or deliver enhanced consumer benefits, he explains. 

“Our aim with each design is to use the minimum amount of material needed to ensure the pack functions correctly and protects the product. All new designs also need to be fully recyclable in existing systems, and we are working to ensure our older designs are converted to meet the same requirements,” says Lodge. SPG is observing reusable packaging as a rising trend.

“We have developed several ranges of products to meet the nostalgia trend, with our latest print techniques achieving some high-quality finishes that replicate natural materials like paper and leather, and we have introduced more innovative techniques such as high build printing inks for textured surfaces.” 

Reusable packaging on the rise 
Borger says that Henkel is currently gaining experience in the area of refill stations in Germany with its Love Nature brand. “With regard to recycled material use, most of our PET bottles within the Laundry and Home Care market in Europe are made of 100% recycled plastics.”

“For most of the PET bottles of our Pro Nature cleaners, we use a special form of recyclate, known as ‘Social Plastic,’ which we source from Plastic Bank. We are also closing local material cycles, using recycled material from the German ‘Yellow Bin’ waste management system for all hand dishwashing detergents we produce in Germany (Pril),” she explains.

SPG is observing reusable packaging as a rising trend. “This idea [of reusable packaging] promotes the use of packaging that can be refilled many times using recharges which are made in flexible packaging. With this idea, we are not only ‘reusing’ rigid packaging, but we are reducing the use of plastic by using flexible packaging, which offers sustainable solutions at the same time,” the company states.  

“Among all our solutions for this [household packaging] sector, we underline our monomaterial films. These solutions offer the same guarantees as other films with no recyclables with the advantage of being sustainable. For this sector, we underline our PE ECO, a recyclable monomaterial film which has been to meet the guidelines set out by the European Commission to increase the recyclability of packaging.”

Henkel’s PET bottles within the Laundry and Home Care market in Europe are made of 100% recycled plastics.However, the SPG spokesperson says acceptance of reusable packaging for consumers is growing slowly. “Consumers need to embrace a change in their habits, so we can use it in all sectors, and this process will take a little longer.”

Lodge agrees that the shift to more reusable packaging solutions is not as fast as expected. “We have developed a wide range of reusable items from PP beer cups for events, through refillable cosmetic and personal care packs like roll-ons and cream jars, to refillable systems for concentrated domestic cleaning chemicals.”

“The interest from industry is very high, but when it comes to developing the systems needed to make the products work, including reverse logistics, cleaning and repurposing, it becomes more difficult and less attractive. At present, using refill systems seems to be more successful than returnable packs, so when we look at the business models available, there is progress in some areas but less in others.” 

Pandemic-related household packaging shifts 
SPG says it has observed an “important” growth in the sales of disinfection and cleaning products as well as many new launches of solutions or products which include disinfectant constituents.

Berry Global, however, observed a different shift explaining that initially, there was a big swing away from certain types of pack format toward others, “but when we analyzed it, the shift was from industrial packaging where demand had decreased toward any pack that could contain hand cleanser or cleaning products. As the pandemic has lessened, the trends have switched back to a more normal pattern,” says Lodge. 

“One thing we had expected was a rise in larger pack formats, due to the growth of home delivery but that did not happen,” he adds. 

“We observe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on certain product categories, but not on the packaging,” says Henkel’s Borger. 

Digital watermarking tech in household packaging The industry’s interest in reusable household packaging solutions is high, says Berry Global’s Brian Lodge. 
As part of its participation in the HolyGrail 2.0 initiative, Henkel took part in a recent test phase taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The test phase was led by the European Brands Association together with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. 

“The aim was to gain further insights into how digital watermarking technology could improve the sorting of packaging. Here, more than 100,000 packaging samples and a total of 250 different packagings were successfully tested. The recognition rate was more than 97%. Henkel participated in the tests with packaging from its Vernel products, among others,” highlights Borger. 

“Radio-frequency identification marking of products can bring some benefits, and we are working on how we can permanently encapsulate tags into packaging. The digital world is quite broad and developing rapidly all the time, so we are keeping an eye on what may deliver opportunities for Berry and our customers, and when adoption would be possible,” stresses Lodge. 

“Certainly, Industry 4.0 provides opportunities for the packaging industry to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing plants and logistic chains, with the Internet of Things looking at connected packaging and how that can affect shopping behaviors, including the growth of online shopping and home delivery.” 

“All of these raise the question of how each affects the design and development of the products we make. We may not have all the answers yet, but we are working on it,” he concludes. 

By Natalie Schwertheim