While great progress has been made in innovative and sustainable packaging—from mass market to prestige—bottles and tubes, to refillables—much depends on consumer habits and perception. Will eco-conscious beauty customers recognize these efforts? Will they be willing to pay the premium for products made from recycled materials‚ or opt for innovative refillables that can be used again and again? What does the future hold as far as innovative packaging?
 
Here are some thoughts from some of Beauty’s suppliers and brands:
 
Joe Cicci, president emeritus, of CO II Packaging, anticipates the most innovation will be in eliminating certain forms of plastic. He says, “Cosmetics packaging always used shiny foil substrates creating attractive eye-catching appeal and seductive impulse buying. Today the trend is to eliminate film, windows, vac forms or any other forms of plastic. The challenge is to keep the graphic appeal and eye-catching qualities, but make the package environmentally friendly so the brands can achieve their validity of responsible packaging.” He adds: “As sustainable materials develop, suppliers have to be creative, incorporating them into the packaging both primary and secondary. Package graphics still need to seduce the potential buyer when they see it on the shelf.”
 
At Eastman Specialty Plastics, Tara Cary, segment market manager, Cosmetic Packaging, acknowledges: “Sustainability is becoming more of an imperative in the beauty industry. Our research tells us that consumers see the most sustainable packaging as containing recycled content and being easily recyclable. We are also seeing a push for refillable and reusable options. I would expect to see considerable innovation around designing for recyclability over the next few years.”
 
Neenah’s Gary Bernstein, senior sales director packaging & sustainable solutions, predicts two major areas of change—“first, making the brand experience consistent throughout whatever path the customer takes. Carefully considering things like how a package is boxed for shipping, as well as every touchpoint of the retail experience. Second—it’s all about plastic replacement and/or reduction. What alternatives are there to plastic trays and product protection? Will consumers consider refillable containers? What alternative substrates are there for sampling?”
 
Michael Rutchik, creative director of the OLIKA brand, says, “Innovation moving forward means finding the best way to make the refill into the product so that durable dispensers can easily be reused over and over.
 
Kemas’s Darren Eade, vice president of sales, foresees the most innovation in the future of cosmetics packaging in recyclability, new resin materials and “materials that have much less impact on a brand’s carbon footprint.”
 
For more insight from some of the industry’s foremost brands and suppliers, see Innovative Packaging: Luxe and ‘Sustainable Without Compromise.’