Sustainable Through and Through

Eco-friendly brands are forging packaging partnerships that make “green” truly beautiful.

By Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor

Alpha is currently blow molding three sizes of clear PET Boston Rounds for Lush shampoos and liquid hair products.

These days, “sustainability” is easily the most popular packaging buzzword. Defined by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition as being “sourced responsibly, designed to be effective and safe throughout its life cycle, meets market criteria for performance and cost, is made entirely using renewable energy and once used, is recycled efficiently to provide a valuable resource for subsequent generations,” sustainable packaging is increasingly appealing to eco-conscious manufacturers and consumers alike.

“Most consumers are starting to link sustainable to healthy, and ultimately, they want their beauty products to be healthy for them, so why shouldn’t the packaging match the products they are buying?” comments Nicole Smith, environmental director, Design & Source Productions, Inc., New York, NY. “You have large retailers and brands pushing it down the supply chain, but you are also seeing cost savings and great innovation. In the end, consumers can get behind a product that is doing more for their environment, and feel better about spending their money on such an item.”

Fresh off creating an award-winning soap package for Burt’s Bees, Design & Source Productions worked with Irvington, NY-based Jurlique on a sustainable packaging solution for its Maintain Balance introductory product set. After examining some of the company’s molded pulps (a range from recycled, to bamboo to sugar cane waste), inspiration struck the company’s design director, and the concept of an egg carton was born. “Design & Source designed the box to house three different product types, so that they could do any assortment of bottles or boxes depending on the special promotion they had for the season,” says Smith. “This allows the package to be universal throughout the year, and gives a fresh look to their current set packaging.”

The company used 100% recycled paper pulp for the project, and the box was molded to perfectly hold and protect the five items packed in the set. This package was selected as a finalist in HBA’s International Packaging Design Awards for 2008.

Luxury Goes Sustainable

Many personal care companies like to pair organic-themed products with sustainable packaging to extend the product’s perceived benefit. When Dallas, TX-based Organicare launched its debut range of USDA-certified organic skin care products, the company partnered with Curtis Packaging of Sandy Hook, CT, to brainstorm a solution that conveyed the line’s high-end positioning.

“The brand owners wanted packaging that reflected the natural yet sophisticated look of the brand,” recalls Rosanna D’Oleo, marketing associate, Curtis Packaging. “Organicare’s packaging is a great example of luxury packaging manufactured in a sustainable manner.”

Organicare, which launched in September at Henri Bendel in New York, is the first complete line of USDA certified organic performance skin care products. All nine products in the line have received the coveted USDA seal and are 100% free of any petrochemicals or parabens.  

Jamie O’Banion, president and co-creator of Organicare, says that when she began developing the line, she wanted to ensure the packaging was the gold standard in performance and sustainability. “The difficulty was in designing something “eco-chic,” meaning the packaging needed to deliver our messages of both purity and performance in a visually appealing manner while still attaining our goal of sustainable, green packaging,” she says. “Our target customer is someone who expects performance in their skin care products, but is also trying to take small steps toward helping the world around them. Our philosophy and packaging embodies both of these goals.”

The materials and packaging design were carefully selected to ensure that the brand’s identity was accurately presented. “Organicare’s packaging is made from 80% post consumer waste and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paperboard,” says D’Oleo. “The paperboard is made with 100% renewable energy in a carbon neutral facility. In addition, the cartons are manufactured with 100% wind power in a carbon neutral facility.”

Organicare partnered with Curtis Packaging for a sustainable solution that conveys the line’s high-end positioning.

O’Banion says the package developed by Curtis hit the eco-chic nail on the head. “The packaging immediately draws you in with the unique textures created from the recycled board and triple-layer embossed, pearlized flower,” she says. “The technology they used to create our design to match and exceed that of designs created on virgin board was truly a feat worth praising.”

Organicare’s packaging design was developed around the concepts of efficiency, sustainability, and elegance. According to D’Oleo, the packaging’s structural design took into consideration the most efficient way to present an elegant yet practical carton. “The carton is a French reverse tuck with slit lock bottom and Euro nib top,” she says. “The design offers exceptional logistic performance without compromising the sustainable values of the brand.”

The cartons are stored and shipped flat, which makes storage and transportation more efficient. In addition, each carton was right-sized to avoid the use of unnecessary resources. To enhance the attractiveness of the graphic design’s details, multi-level embossing was used and the cartons were finished with a combination of high-gloss UV coating and matte varnish. The result of this project was a beautiful, eye-catching and sophisticated package that reinforced the values and meaning of the brand without compromising the environment. 

Beyond Paperboard

Although recycled paper products are usually the first materials thought of when one thinks of sustainable packaging, recycled plastics technology is also advancing by leaps and bounds. The most popular “green” plastic is post-consumer resin (recycled plastic called PCR) because it performs as well as the virgin plastics it replaces to create bottles, jars, caps and closures.

“The term PCR is used to describe any post-consumer (recycled) version of virgin plastics such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate, recycle code #1) or HDPE (high-density polyethylene, recycle code #2). When processed correctly, recycled PET and HDPE share virtually the same chemical properties as virgin resin,” explains Marny Bielefeldt, marketing manager for Alpha Plastics, Saint Louis, MI. “At Alpha, we can run 25% PET PCR, 50% PET PCR or 100% PET PCR in most of our PET blow molds, so it is very easy for customers to convert their current packaging from virgin PET to recycled PET with minimal tests and no new mold costs.”

Earlier this year, here in the U.S., Lush Cosmetics, an international beauty company best known for its unpackaged soaps and solid shampoo bars, tapped Alpha when it was ready to convert to 100% PET PCR. Long known for using little or no packaging—and choosing environmentally responsible packaging when packaging is indeed necessary—Lush converted all of its PET shampoo bottles to 100% PCR in the spring of 2008.

According to Lush North America’s website, the company philosophy is: “When we can’t eliminate it completely, we look for the simplest packaging to do the job and use post-consumer recycled, recyclable and biodegradable materials whenever possible.” Alpha’s 100% recycled bottles are how Lush is meeting that goal for its liquid hair care products.

Lush says the total recycled content in all its packaging is about 89%, including paper bags, aluminum tins, gift wrap, ribbons, boxes, tags and inserts. That means that for every ton of material bought by Lush, 900kg comes from recycled sources. All of its pots and bottles are made with 100% PCR plastic, saving about 65 tons of CO2 and 90 tons of virgin plastic, or 800 barrels of oil, each year.

Alpha is currently blow molding three sizes of clear PET Boston Rounds for Lush shampoos and liquid hair products. “The ‘clear’ recycled PET tends to have a slightly gray or yellow tint to it, especially in areas such as the neck where the plastic is much thicker, when compared to virgin PET,” says Bielefeldt. “However, for many products, this slight discoloration is easily camouflaged by the contents or the label. For example, Lush’s 100ml, 8- and 16-oz. bottles hold brightly colored opaque liquids, and are also covered with large black labels, so any imperfections in the bottle are not evident when the product is on the shelf. And adding colored tints to the recycled plastic, especially dark colors, completely eliminates any appearance of discoloration.”

Bielefeldt adds that most of Alpha’s customers using PCR in any percentage say they prefer the slightly gray or yellow tone of the recycled resin for their PCR bottles and jars. “They say the slight discoloration reinforces the fact that the bottles are recycled,” she says.

Bielefeldt says it’s also worth noting that the company’s PET PCR bottles are able to be recycled again in community recycling programs. PET is the number one recycled resin in the U.S. with approximately 1.17 million pounds of plastic recycled each year (primarily from soda and water bottles).

Cosmopak’s Exclusive Material

Across the pond in the UK, Cosmopak recently announced the availability of its own exclusive post consumer recycled plastic material. In response to a demand for more environmentally friendly raw materials, Cosmopak entered into an exclusive supply agreement with Closed Loop UK Ltd—the only UK producer of 100% British post consumer PP and PETG—to address the needs of the cosmetics industry.

Here to Stay

Consumer attitudes about the ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care product formulations have changed, as have their opinions about packaging. With more consumers swayed by products packaged with recycled materials, as well as the positive environmental impact, the concept of sustainability is more than just a fleeting industry buzzword. It’s a conscientious way of thinking that will no doubt influence and enhance packaging for the foreseeable future.