Packaging Can Be Sustainable & Beautiful

There’s no getting around it. If you read Happi, your brand relies on packaging in one form or another. Personal care, beauty and home care products are part of the CPG industry—and everyone all knows what the “P” is.

And if you are still reading this story, your brand is looking for more sustainable bottles, boxes, caps and pumps—if not eliminating some of these components altogether.

Brands are feverishly mapping out strategies and seeking new solutions to reduce plastic materials, increase recycling and have less packaging end up in landfills or become ocean pollution.

But it’s complicated, and piecemeal efforts by individual companies aren’t the answer.

Just ask SC Johnson Chairman and CEO Fisk Johnson, PhD. In his March 6, 2024 testimony at the US Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Policies for Consumer Packaging, Johnson spoke about the conundrum many brands are in right now.

“I am a scientist by education, but I have spent the last 37 years of my career in the packaged goods industry. And as a CEO of a large global consumer goods company that is a big user of plastic, I see plastic in two very different ways. On one hand, I see it as one of the most useful, versatile and cost-effective materials developed in the last century; that has brought extraordinary benefits to human life and well-being on this planet. 

“On the other hand, as a lifelong conservationist, I’ve seen how plastic has become one of the most profound emerging global pollutants that is affecting planetary, animal and human health.

“And the challenge is reconciling those two perspectives. How as a society do we practically, most economically, and least disruptively preserve the benefits that plastic has brought to humanity, while preventing the vast amounts of plastic that end up in landfills or, even worse, end up in the environment where it can affect animal and human health?” he asked.

SC Johnson has been addressing plastic and packaging waste for years. While in Washington, DC, Johnson shared some of SCJ’s accomplishments—like launching a 100% recycled plastic bottle in 1990 and rolling out concentrated cleaning products under the Windex brand a dozen years ago. 

Johnson said SCJ will be “at 25% PCR in our packaging globally” by 2025.

“However, for all of our company’s work and ambition on plastic, I can’t raise my hand and say I feel good about the progress we have made,” Johnson told lawmakers. 

“No matter how many innovations one company can try, the fact is that voluntary actions only can go so far. It is incredibly difficult for an individual business, or even businesses as a whole, to make unilateral progress on the plastic waste issue. It takes everyone in the plastic ecosystem (from plastic manufacturers, packaged goods companies, retailers, recyclers, waste haulers, to individual users of plastic products) to work collectively together in order to make significant progress and capture economies of scale,” he said.

In his written statement, Johnson penned the following: “while we have made good strides to reduce plastic in our packaging, cost can be a limiting factor. For example, incorporating recycled plastic in our products can put us at a competitive disadvantage when the cost of recycled plastic is significantly higher than virgin plastic.”

“Our industry represents 30% of landfill in this country because most of what we produce can’t be recycled,” asserted Karen Young, founder of The Young Group, the New York-Paris based marketing company that works with beauty, health and wellness brands from research to product development to product distribution and sales, including packaging. 

“PCR plastic is expensive and doesn’t get to the root of the problem…Glass may be better in some regards, but the shipping costs are exorbitant compared to plastic,” she said.

And what’s more, beauty consumers have high expectations, especially in the luxury market.

“If consumers are spending $500 on a fragrance, they want/expect layers of flashy packaging and plenty of weight,” Young said.

Making Progress

Strides have been made by brands to sell their wares to consumers with less wear and tear on Mother Earth. What’s arriving in the market today is purposefully designed to be more sustainable (by way of recycled content or recyclability) without sacrificing aesthetics.

Glass continues to be a material of choice in luxury cosmetics. While most North America public recycling guidelines emphasize amber, green or clear glass as a preferred colors for recyclability purposes, the aesthetic demands of beauty—think decorations and colors—can often impede recyclability. 

Understanding what makes glass cosmetic packaging efficiently sortable and overcoming the challenges of delivering luxury decorations, colors and formats that can be identified as recyclable by recyclers, in practice and at scale, represents a unique opportunity for the cosmetics industry, according to Estée Lauder Companies (ELC).

ELC and North American glass recycler Strategic Materials, Inc. (SMI) recently completed a multi-year study to identify ways to enhance recyclability of cosmetic glass packaging and the availability of recycled materials. Over four years, ELC and SMI tested more than 200 glass beauty containers and packages to better understand barriers and explore potential solutions. This, according to ELC, has yielded new insights on the recyclability of various decorations, colors and formats, as well as design best practices that may serve as a guide to designers, developers, suppliers and brands to help advance circularity. 

The collaboration is intended to support ELC’s broader efforts to help reduce the potential environmental impacts of a package throughout its lifecycle.

ELC, which uses a variety of different packaging materials across its brand and product portfolio, has committed that by 2025, 75-100% of its packaging will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable, and it will increase the amount of PCR material in its packaging to 25% or more. As of fiscal 2023, 71% of its packaging by weight was recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled, or recoverable, according to Nancy Mahon, chief sustainability officer.

ELC also announced a commitment to reduce the amount of virgin petroleum plastic in its packaging to 50% or less by the end of calendar year 2030. 

Bootstrapped startups with considerably fewer resources are also using more sustainable packaging at launch. It can significantly increase their cost per piece, but according to Young, these new brands are doing so because they feel it is what the market demands.

It is often what indie beauty brand founders believe in, too. 

“As a business owner, it’s important to me to find that balance between beauty, efficacy and positive impact. That was the entire catalyst for me when starting Evolvetogether,” said Cynthia Sakai, founder and CEO of the West Hollywood, CA-based personal care company.

Sakai’s brand deploys a multi-pronged strategy when it comes to packaging.

“When evaluating the primary packaging, the first thing we consider is user experience. After that, we think about the actual materials. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all mentality, which is why we source the best materials that are going to keep our products high-performing and stable for each individual SKU…The last aspect we consider is aesthetics. We want our products to not only be effective and good for the environment but also beautiful and convenient for our customers.”

Evolvetogether relies on a mixture of materials. But depending on the product, the options can be limited— especially for liquids, Sakai asserted. 

Evolvetogether’s face wash, part of its Gone Today Collection, is housed in 100% dissolvable packaging made from plants and soy ink.

 “We spent years ‘R+Ding’ this to get it just right,” Sakai told Happi, noting that she plans to expand the collection.

 “Our goal is to continue finding unique ways to reduce waste. Whether reducing plastics in our packaging, getting our products to be home-compostable, partnering with like-minded brands or knowledge-sharing with our industry leaders—we’re making progress every day,” she said.

The biggest pain point for the brand is “getting everything to be mono-material to ensure recyclability, especially in the beauty/personal care industry,” said Sakai. “Our team is constantly asking, ‘How do we make products that are easy for the average consumer to recycle?’ ‘If it can’t be recyclable, can we make it compostable or easily taken apart?’”  

Sakai looks outside the beauty space for ideas.

“For us right now, the food industry is the biggest inspiration. There is a great influx of innovation happening in the space that constantly influences our products,” she said.

Continuous Improvement

“When approaching sustainable packaging design at Fresh, we start by thinking about the full lifecycle of a product,” Leticia Viveros, vice president, sustainability, told Happi. “Together with our engineering and sourcing partners, we identify appropriate materials—and collaboratively look for places where we can make better choices in terms of recyclability, post-consumer recycled content and additional ways to minimize our footprint through shape, size and deco process. We’ve removed unnecessary layers in our evergreen assortment and reduced carton footprints for items needing this layer of protection.”

Fresh’s packaging portfolio has been undergoing renovation since 2021. Currently, 87% of its SKUs have packaging materials that have been designed to be recycled or contain significant levels of recycled materials (PCR); more than 85% of its glass packaging is made with recycled content; and 98% of its tubes are made with recycled plastic. 

“And we are on the journey to having 100% of our plastic bottles made with recycled content as well,” added Viveros.

Gifting represents a large piece of Fresh’s business, and the company has been working on more recycle-ready gift packaging. Since 2021, the brand has removed all plastic, lamination, hot stamping and glitter from its gifting programs, and added innovative materials like pulp and paper ribbons.

“Most importantly, we’ve managed to balance all these sustainable steps without sacrificing the premium look and sensorial feel of our gift packaging,” Viveros asserted.

Continuous improvement can also mean ditching extra packaging components.

For example, Fresh removed the carton on its Soy Face Cleanser—one its top volume SKUs. 

“These decisions in the creation of our packaging not only improve the circularity of our packaging, but also diverts waste from landfills and reduces our energy consumption, and therefore our CO2 footprint,” said Viveros.

New Refill Arrivals

Refillable packaging continues to pop up across beauty and personal care.

Johnson’s Baby this year introduced refills—33.8oz, recyclable packaging for its core baby skincare line. The refills, which can be found on Amazon and Target, feature 88% less plastic and more than 25% more product for 15% less cost compared to purchasing a new 400ml bottle.

Murad rolled out refillable products. Its best-selling Retinal ReSculpt Overnight Treatment and Cellular Hydration Barrier Repair Serum are now available in refills that reduce packaging materials by up to 85% while saving 15% on cost, the skincare brand asserts. 

According to  Jake Schwalm, director of package engineering, Murad spent more than two years developing the refills. The outer bottle of Murad’s Cellular Hydration Repair Serum, which partners with the refill, is 65% recycled plastic; the outer bottle of the Retinal ReSculpt Overnight Treatment is glass; and the Retinal ReSculpt Eye Lift Treatment jar is glass.

Murad is currently working toward:

• For existing products, replacing virgin plastic with PCR packaging in every instance possible, with 50% reduction in virgin plastic by 2025, the integration of 50% PCR components by 2030, and a goal to be 100% recyclable by 2030.

• For all new products, launch in PCR or recyclable glass.

• Design packaging with individual parts that can be separated for recycling.

“The refills align with all three of those goals as they are reducing extraneous plastic use when compared to buying a new, full item,” Schwalm said about the recent rollouts, noting that more refill programs are slated to launch this year.

Beekman 1802 recently rolled out its popular Bloom Cream moisturizer in a tube as well as a “jumbo” with a refillable pod.  

The easy-to-squeeze tube does not have a pump mechanism and is made entirely of PCR, which renders it fully recyclable. The new “jumbo” with the refillable pod delivers 120 doses with 83% less plastic, saving the equivalent of six jars of its jumbo Bloom Cream from landfills.

John Paul Mitchell Systems recently released new packaging for Tea Tree range. Bottles and jars are now made with 100% PCR and tubes are made with 25% PCR, according to the brand. Additionally, new labels are designed not to be removed before recycling.

Novel Solutions

Freaks of Nature is a new skin health brand co-founded by surfer and ocean conservationist Kelly Slater. According to Lukas Derksen, co-founder, the brand has created the first airless pump with 100% upcycled, ocean-bound plastic in collaboration with Oceanworks, the plastic action platform providing chain-of-custody assurance and material traceability.  

Attitude recently expanded its Oceanly Skincare collection with new Phyto-Sun, solid skin care with SPF housed in biodegradable, plastic-free and FSC-certified cardboard tubes that are thick enough to ensure better preservation of the formula. The materials elongate the life of the product as well as recycle “flawlessly,” according to the brand.

Solid formats help reduce plastic from the packaging stream. 

Take for example, Tide Evo and Olay Melts, new products from Procter & Gamble.

Tide Evo is a fiber-based laundry detergent packaged in Forest Stewardship Council-certified recyclable paper packaging. Olay Melts are water-activated facial cleansers sold as tiny pads housed in a box. Neither of these “cleansers” require the plastic bottle typical in their respective categories.

How well consumers take to these new forms remains to be seen. But one thing remains clear: consumers will continue to influence how beauty, personal care and home care brands formulate and package their products.

“Consumers, particularly younger generations, are increasingly aligning themselves with brands that share their values—one of which is environmental responsibility,” said Viveros of Fresh. “Through innovation we can offer beautiful packaging created with materials that are respectful to the environment, by consistently assessing and incorporating new technologies and materials that do not negatively impact the environment.”