Green Opportunity Knocks

Researching the topic of sustainability for this month’s feature, “Lighten Up,” has been a revealing experience. Not only are many brands and suppliers making great strides in the eco-friendly packaging materials they’re using, but they’re also utilizing alternative energy sources and rethinking shipping methods to reduce their carbon footprint. Changes like these often result in cutting costs along the way.
  
Despite promising steps toward helping the environment, I am reminded of the challenges that lie beyond these tangible efforts by a piece of litter poking out from under some brush in a nearby parking lot. I have watched it daily as an experiment of sorts. It’s a brochure that caught my eye because the headline is “Sustainable Quality.” Despite rain, sleet and snow, it has stayed perfectly intact and legible. I don’t know what it’s promoting, but it’s a sign that no matter what material packaging and printing is made of, if people don’t recycle it, it doesn’t make a difference. When I stopped to finally pick it up, it was gone—seemingly removed by a landscaper who had hopefully placed it in a recycling bin.
  
Last night, while channel surfing, I happened to catch a British program, which took a lighthearted approach on the serious subject of recycling. The host was questioning a couple at their bucolic countryside home in the UK. The pair proudly described their practice of separating bottles and cans and placing them in bins for pickup every week. Suddenly, a guy in a crazy red jumpsuit appeared on the scene, hauling in all the trash they’d disposed of during the week (who knows how he got it!). He dumped out the contents, showing them how much more of it could have been either recycled or composted. Out of seven bags, only two were really trash. It may be an unusual premise for a TV show, but it’s effective in calling people’s attention to their recycling habits. I know I now think twice when stepping on the pedal of my kitchen trash pail.
  
Aluminum is a material that can be recycled endlessly and, as Leah Genuario reports in “Multifaceted Metal,” it is now used more frequently in personal care packaging applications as a result. While recycling can help protect the environment, Christine Esposito tells how you can protect your brand’s reputation—and your bottom line—in “Keeping it Real,” a look at anti-counterfeiting measures you can employ.
  
We hope you enjoy this edition of BeautyPackaging.com.

Jamie Matusow
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