Sustainable Packaging: Suppliers' Innovations - part 3 - Bio Inspiration
Our annual packaging innovations trend report highlights the most innovative and interesting sustainable beauty packaging design concepts and initiatives launched in the last 12 months from niche to mass and luxury brands that have caught our attention.
Our Sustainable Packaging Design Innovations & Key Trends 2024 report is split into three parts:
- Eco Anxiety/Eco-Boredom or Eco-Fatigue - link here
- Packaging Disappearance - link here
- Bio Inspiration - see article below
*this report feature products launched in January to October 2024.
Macro Trends
re/sources has identified three big macro trends in 2024:
- Eco Anxiety/Eco-Boredom / Eco-Fatigue (sensorial / tactile / immersive / inclusive / easy recycling): Bored of the pressures of sustainability, consumers are increasingly seeking beauty products that provide excitement and entertainment with sensorial, holistic and 360 circular design that taps into the mind-connection.
- Packaging Disappearance (refillable / keepsake / reusable / luxury vessels): Packaging is no longer just a transportation device or a protective/ application tool, but a keepsake object with value. This trend is all about removing the waste element of packaging and creating a beautiful design piece that can last a lifetime.
- Bio Inspiration (upcycled / recycled materials / marine bioplastics / algae / mushroom / bacteria): Packaging inspired by the natural world and living organisms to ensure the preservation and regeneration of nature and its biodiversity.
Key Packaging Trends
Bio Inspiration
- By-Product Materials: using upcycled materials.
- Natural Materials: using materials such as algae that can dissolve as well as bamboo and mushroom.
- Recycled Materials: from ocean plastic to post consumer recycled (PCR) materials.
- Carbon Capture: packaging made from carbon capture processes.
Woodacity
About
Woodacity launched one year ago, featuring Aptar's Iconic mechanism, wrapped in a custom mono-material wooden casing from Quadpack. The new edition of this refillable lipstick offers more choice in wood types and finishes and a new, patented closure system called 'Solo Snap'.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
Casing is made of 100% ash or maple wood, sourced from European, sustainably-managed forests, with PEFC and FSC certifications.
Fully customizable
Supplier: Aptar Beauty & Quadpack
Location: Spain & France
Release Date: January 2024
Link: https://aptar.com/news-events/aptar-beauty-quadpack-revamp-refillable-lipstick-encased-in-wood/
Duo Cosmetics
About
Bar-top closure with wood head and leg in synthetic material.
Duo Cosmetic’s minimalist, timeless design rounds off the product with a touch of elegance.
Infinitely customizable, perfect in its simplicity.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- Recyclable and easy-to-separate components with no adhesive.
- Highly customizable
- Multifunctional cap: aesthetic, sealing, recyclable
Supplier: Tapì Group
Location: France
Release Date: 2024
Link: https://tapigroup.com/duo/index.html#duo-cosmetics
Papira
About
Responsibly sourced, biodegradable in home compost, and sustainable through the entire lifecycle, Papira® is made of wood fibre from sustainably managed Nordic forests. Rigid, and with excellent shock absorbing properties, it is suitable for a wide variety of application needs – to fragile goods such as glass, arts and antiques.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- Bio-based, plastic-free and biodegradable material made from sustainably sourced and traceable wood fibers.
- Recyclable with paper and board materials
Supplier: StoraEnso
Location: Sweden
Release Date: 2024
Link: https://www.storaenso.com/en/products/bio-based-materials/cellulose-foam
Marble-like Caps
About
FaiveleyTech reveals new marble-like finishing for beauty packaging made of biobased Sulapac materials. Fragrance caps in different shades were created with Sulapac Luxe Flex, a biosourced and biodegradable material designed to replace technical fossil plastics in beauty packaging. Thanks to the manufacturing process using bi-injection and bio-based colorants, the pattern is repeatable but each piece remains unique, reflecting exclusivity and elegance.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- Biobased materials recyclable in existing plastic streams and not leaving any permanent microplastics or toxic load behind
- Highly customizable
Supplier: FaiveleyTech
Location: France
Release Date: June 2024
Link: https://www.sulapac.com/materials-injection-molding/#sulapacluxe
ALGX packaging range
About
Somater's ALGX packaging range offers an exceptional alternative to fossil-based polymers. ALGX is a 100% bio-based resin derived from the upcycling of green algae.
The innovative combination of bio-based ALGX material with PP/PE allows Somater to create a bio-based and recyclable packaging. 100% bio-based combinations or incorporating PCR are also offered.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- 100% bio-based
- Fully customizable
Supplier: Somater
Location: France
Release Date: March 2024
Biobased Cushion Puff
About
Redesigned cushion puffs with the Bio Cushion Puff range that features 30% to 37% of biobased material. The puff features 3 biobased materials: Ecoporous 70 (premium PU material, up to 70% biobased); Bio Jones (33% biobased); Lyocell, a ribbon to hold the puff, (100% biobased).
Part of the fossil-origin ingredients is replaced by materials generated from renewable sources, such as corn and castor oil plants. The properties remain excellent: premium quality, ultra-soft feel, washable, and high-performing makeup application.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
Biobased
Supplier: Taiki
Location: France
Release Date: June 2024
Link: https://www.taikicosmetics.com/en/sponges-puffs/10-cushion-puff.html
100% Natural & Protective Material
About
This wood packaging is 100% natural and is nutrient for soil after use. RAIKU can turn 1 cubic meter of wood into 15 cubic meters of protective packaging. Combined with low energy consumption, the footprint is very low and no chemicals are added in the process. This material can be used to make many different products: individual springs, mats, wraps…
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- Low footprint
- 100% compostable
- Higlhy protective
Supplier: RAIKU
Location: Estonia
Release Date: July 2024
Link: https://raiku.co/products
Home Compostability Certification
About
Metsä Board has achieved home compostability certification for all its white kraftliners and folding boxboards (excluding PE-coated grades). The certification was issued by DIN CERTCO based on the compliance with standard NF T 51-800.
All paperboards are made of fresh wood fibres and are safe to use for sensitive end use applications. They are lightweight and made using mainly fossil free energy, hence contributing to a lower carbon footprint.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
Once the packaging has served its purpose, it can be recycled and composted at home with biowaste
Supplier: Metsä Group
Location: Finland
Release Date: January 2024
Contemporary
About
GEKA launches the Contemporary range, the first ever bulk and formulation compliant PCR-PP material suitable for primary cosmetic packaging.
Bottles, rods and caps are made of minimum 95% recycled PCR-PP that is tested to all food-grade cosmetic regulatory. Compared to virgin PP the innovative material saves 75% CO2 emissions and is odorless. This new material provides unprecedented color brilliance, guarantees no loss of visual effect and all packaging is decorated with the sustainable decoration technique Shadow Printing 2.0.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- Saves 75% CO2 emissions
- Fully customizable
Supplier: GEKA
Location: Germany
Release Date: March 2024
Link: https://www.geka-world.com/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/sustainability/geka_pcr-pp.pdf
Bio-Blender
About
Taiki develops a plant-based 3D makeup sponge, using upcycled non-food plant waste to create a new ingredient that effectively replaces one of the petrochemical ingredients necessary to create PU. Up to 50% of the Pure Bio-Blenders and 70% of the Blooming Bio-Blenders come from biobased sources, including powders from lavender, lotus, green tea, rose, and bamboo charcoal. In terms of efficacy, these sponges offer the same properties as their standard counterparts: they are washable, antibacterial, soft, and bouncy, and ensure high-quality makeup application.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
Biobased
Supplier: Taiki
Location: France
Release Date: June 2024
Link: https://www.taikicosmetics.com/en/sponges-puffs/127-bio-blender.html
100% Plant-Based Packaging
About
S.Lab developed a 100% biodegradable packaging made of mushroom roots and agricultural waste. This reliable material is capable of fully replacing foamed plastic and beyond.
S.Lab’s natural replacement for foamed plastic finds application across various industries, such as: cushioning for cosmetics, lodgements for electronics, packaging for decor and fashion, and even thermally insulating boxes for food and pharmaceuticals.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
Home compostable, customizable, non-toxic, water & heat proof
Supplier: S.Lab
Location: Spain
Release Date: July 2024
CorDisk
About
mPackting offers jar lids that are 100% mono-material: a threaded wood lid is completed with a patented (and lab certified) sealing disc solution made of cork, which is suitable for cosmetic packaging applications. These discs are customizable with food-grade colors and laser engraving.
Cork’s compressibility guarantees a safe sealing of the lid, avoiding product leakage. Thanks to our sealing discs it is thus possible to obtain an eco-friendly cosmetic packaging solution, without plastic, glue nor resin.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- Fully customizable
- 100% monomaterial and recyclable
Supplier: mPackting
Location: Italy
Release Date: July 2024
Link: https://www.mpackting.com/blog/legnapin-and-cordisk-monomaterial-innovative-solutions-for-luxury-caps-and-lids-in-the-beauty-sector
Futura
About
The Futura range is based on the recovery of textile waste from Albini. It comes in two weights, 115 and 300 gr., and meets the technical requirements of printing and packaging.
This second-life project allows Fedrigoni to reduce the amount of virgin pulp in production by reclaiming textile by-products destined for disposal while optimizing energy and emissions in every production process.
Fedrigoni won the Sustainability Pap Argus award for this upcycling project.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
Upcycling project
Supplier: Fedrigoni
Location: Italy
Release Date: May 2024
Link: https://specialpapers.fedrigoni.com/fed-world/futura-upcycling-denim-in-collaboration-with-albini_next/
Wood Components
About
Beyond aesthetics, the tactile warmth of wood communicates quality and craftsmanship, along with the natural image and the sophisticated expectations of the beauty industry.
Molpack offers fully personalized wood components to brands, who can choose shapes and sizes (round, square, conic), as well as finishes (polished or brushed: ashwood, oak, beech wood). Molpack´s wood catalogue includes a large spectrum of caps and stoppers for jars, bottles, droppers, airless pumps.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
Fully customizable
Supplier: Molpack
Location: Spain
Release Date: January 2024
LegnaPin
About
LegnaPin is a mono-material cap made with FSC certified wood. This solution creates a strong friction with the head of the perfume pump and it guarantees a perfect closure. A new sustainable innovation is born, which does not use plastics, resins nor glue.
LegnaPin is a universal solution which adapts to any pump diameter. It is a customizable solution, including the shape or lacquering wood to hide the wood grains.
Why it’s interesting / sustainable:
- Fully customizable
- 100% monomaterial and recyclable
Supplier: mPackting
Location: Italy
Release Date: July 2024
Link: https://www.mpackting.com/blog/legnapin-and-cordisk-monomaterial-innovative-solutions-for-luxury-caps-and-lids-in-the-beauty-sector
