As Millennial and Gen-Z consumers express increased concern for the Earth’s fragility, and for the effects of potential materials waste, an eco-consciousness held by many of today’s Indie brands is driving packaging choices in the beauty industry.

As you’ll read in this issue’s feature story on page 24, many beauty industry suppliers say their customers are not only paying increasing attention to “natural” formulations and ingredients, but that brands are frequently asking about environmentally responsible packaging options, from bottles and compacts to cartons.

In addition, manufacturers say their customers are asking more questions about corporate social responsibility in general, and how their supply chain partners conduct business, from energy sources to manufacturing processes.

While the ubiquitous recycling symbol now appears on so many packs, recycling programs in the Beauty industry have historically posed a challenge, due to formulation compatibility as well as lack of specialized facilities to deal with many of the components. One solution for brands has been to provide take-back programs where they assume responsibility for recycling their own containers—and industry suppliers say these conversations are popping up more frequently in product development meetings.

Last year, Garnier teamed up with DoSomething.org and TerraCycle through a national campaign and college competition to encourage Millennials to recycle empty beauty products. More than 10 million containers were collected by the end of 2017, and TerraCycle recycled the packaging into pelletized lumber, used for a recycled garden donation. Garnier is repeating the effort this year.

A similar TerraCycle program—the 2018 Recycled Playground Challenge, sponsored by Colgate, ShopRite and TerraCycle—will have schools compete for one of two recycled playgrounds made completely of recycled oral packaging material.

Burt’s Bees offers a “Recycle on Us” program, in which consumers mail back their used packaging for recycling free-of-charge.

These examples are just a few of the possibilities, as suppliers continue to generate a vast array of solutions for brands navigating this new frontier. And we’d love to hear about more. Please email me at jmatusow@rodmanmedia to report on any brands using environmentally responsible packaging—or suppliers offering novel solutions.

We hope you enjoy this issue. See you at Luxe Pack New York—where “green packaging” is a running theme—and where a number of suppliers in this month’s eco article will be exhibiting.