General, Innovation, Sustainable Packaging / April 16, 2018
The massive cosmetics and personal care industry generates billions of dollars a year in revenue, but also generates a stunning amount of waste. These products include beauty items, like cleansers, lotions, creams, and anything you can imagine to care for the skin. But it’s a much broader industry than makeup and skincare. It’s virtually anything that makes consumers look and feel good.
The cosmetics industry is expected to continue to grow, but changes are on the horizon. The movement toward sustainability and responsible packaging is growing in the personal care industry as well, largely because of consumer demand. Research indicates that consumers are much more likely to buy products from companies that are responsible and making a positive impact on the environment through recyclable and even compostable packaging. Where the challenge lies in cosmetics and personal care items is that they are often still difficult to recycle due to cleanup challenges and mixed materials. Many of these features persist because they are important to a good user experience and necessary for delivering the product into the consumers hand—literally. Where cosmetics flexible packaging can have a positive impact is in replacing some of these types of packaging, or bridging the gap: improving the sustainability of existing packaging types by reducing elements that make recycling more difficult or less profitable.
Great cosmetics packaging is important because it is such a crowded marketplace. Packaging has a lot of responsibility on its shoulders. It must tell the brand story, appeal to the eye, stand out on store shelves, and both protect and deliver the product safely (and at the peak of quality and freshness) to where the consumer will use it.
Many of the same product quality concerns and ingredients are being addressed in cosmetics as in the food industry. “Non-GMO,” all-natural, organic, and sustainably sourced are among the phrases that will be included on packaging these days—not only in the food aisles but in the health and beauty department. That’s why recyclable and compostable flexible packaging will continue to become more common in cosmetics and personal care. Sustainable packaging is a logical fit when the product ingredients are also sustainable and natural.
For many cosmetics products, there are two levels of packaging. And outer box will often contain a tube or pump container, so the packaging waste concerns can include multiple types of packaging and a larger amount than we may think. Reducing that second level of packaging is usually the easier decision, but when it comes to the system for delivering the actual product (that tube or pump), making big changes can be more difficult. As much as consumers cry for sustainable products and packaging, new packaging has to be as easy to use or better than what it replaces. Those who use cosmetics and personal care items use them on a daily basis, so it’s important not to frustrate consumers. Thankfully, flexible packaging solutions are available that can be easy to open, dispense, and reseal.
Among the most popular solutions used in cosmetics and personal care packaging are our films, sachets, and pouches.
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