Packaging Trend Tracker: Consumer Sustainability Buy-in

Consumers want sustainable products and packaging, but their behavior is lagging.

Nearly 80% of consumers say sustainability is a key purchasing decision factor, according to a new survey from Canadian beauty brand BareLuxe. However, just 23.4% of those shoppers currently use refillable skin care products.

By product category, less than 1% of consumers are using refillable perfumes, while fewer than 5% are using refillable serums, lotions and other personal care products. The portion of consumers using refillable makeup made up the remaining portion of shoppers using refillable formats.

Why the chasm between belief and behavior? BareLuxe’s data found that more than 50% of shoppers have difficulty finding available options, while nearly 37% say their favorite brands do not currently offer refillable options. (In fact, 43% of respondents said they would switch to refillables should their preferred brands adopt them.)

Other shoppers are concerned about a perceived risk of contamination and spillage (31%), while 17% doubt the sustainability of refills.

What would move the needle? Per survey respondents, 34% want substantial proof of impact of refillables, with the same portion seeking competitive pricing.

"There’s a clear need for more transparency, collaboration and shared understanding between brands, retailers and consumers," says Heather Smith, MD, founder and CEO of BareLuxe Skincare. "To truly make a difference, we need unity in our objectives and consistency in our efforts."

Transparency and truth (i.e., no greenwashing) will be critical in this process, particularly in capturing Gen Z shoppers, per Mintel. According to the firm, 58% of Gen Z survey respondents "don’t believe mainstream brands that say they are sustainable." The solution: brands must use clear, accurate language in describing the state of their products’ sustainability and back everything up with evidence.

Packaging suppliers are doing their part, developing solutions with clear sustainability benefits. Here, we round up a number of recent launches.

Many Paths to Sustainable Packaging

Cosmopak recognizes that every brand’s sustainable journey will be different. Its new Rooted in Beauty packaging collection therefore features an array of sustainable formats, including monomaterial, biodegradable and refillable formats, as well as sustainable materials like glass, metal, wood, paper, PCR and biomaterials.

The wide range allows brands a large variety of ways to approach sustainability in a way that aligns with their values, leveraging sustainable packaging and/or offset options.

Sustainable Materials

Cosmopak’s collection includes packaging made with sustainable materials, including:

• aluminum tubes
• glass packaging, including a 50 ml glass bottle dropper, airless glass bottles with a bag on valve system and a 100 ml glass bottle with pump

Monomaterial Formats

Rooted in Beauty features monomaterial designs, including:

• 36 ml monomaterial PP dropper
• one-piece monomaterial PCR tube
• monomaterial PET stackable compact
• 5 g monomaterial PET lipstick
• one-piece large monomaterial PP compact
• monomaterial tin compact with a stainless steel mirror

Refillables

Rooted in Beauty offers refillable formats, including:

• 30 ml and 50 ml refillable aluminum deo stick
• 50 ml aluminum refillable deo stick
• refillable mascara vial
• refillable lip gloss vial

Post-consumer/Recycled Materials

Cosmopak’s collection taps an array of post-consumer materials, including:

• ocean-bound plastic tubes with a comb applicator
• 50 g chemically recycled resin jar
• 50 g mechanically recycled PCR jar

Bio Materials

Rooted in Beauty features designs in a number of bio-based materials, including:

• round and rectangular wooden compacts
• bio-resin tube
• 80 ml paper tubes with ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)
• 80 ml bamboo tube with EVOH
• stackable paper pulp compacts

"We are excited to introduce our Rooted in Beauty packaging collection, which reflects our dedication to sustainability and innovation," says Dan Wolfe, SVP of business development at Cosmopak. "Through our Ecoforward framework, we aim to empower beauty brands to make conscious choices that align with their sustainability goals without compromising on creativity, functionality, or brand aesthetics."

Monomaterial Packaging Expands

As the Cosmopak collection shows, monomaterial concepts are increasingly desirable and offered in a wide range of formats.

Monomaterial Lip Pack

Quadpack’s top-filling monomaterial Emerald Lipstick is designed around a sense of "minimalist elegance" that aligns well with recent "quiet luxury" aesthetic trends.

The launch comes at a boom time for the lip color category. According to Circana data, the segment was the fastest-growing prestige color category in the United States in Q1 2023, up 43% year-over-year. Notably, higher priced lip brands grew at an even faster pace.

The new Quadpack lipstick is available in a square or cylindrical shape, with a choice of materials, including recyclable PET and as much as 100% recycled PET (rPET).

The smooth-working mechanism is POM-free for improved recyclability. Its 12.7 mm cup is compatible with most lipsticks on the market, per Quadpack, with a capacity of 4.0-4.5 g.

The Emerald Lipstick can be decorated with silk screening, hot stamping, matte spray and pearl varnish to further promote an aesthetic of simplicity and restraint.

The pack can be used to house color cosmetics, of course, as well as skin care such as balms and solid fragrances.

Monomaterial Droppers and Covers

Lumson’s monomaterial Eco Dropper comprises PP collars and pipettes (the components can be made with PCR PP). The seal is composed of polyolefin, an elastomer that is purportedly compatible with the PP recycling chain. The design is offered in original and colored variants and can be easily recycled at the end of its life, per the supplier. At the same time, the monomaterial composition reportedly doesn’t compromise technical performance or precision dosing. The Eco Dropper can be combined with PCR glass bottles for fully sustainable packaging. Compared to a standard dropper with TPE seal, urea collar and glass pipette, the CO2 emissions used for production are reduced by 29%, per Lumson.

>>>Read or download the full report here , featuring:

• Rice-based packaging
• Paper airless
• Carbon-capture designs
• Mix and match packaging with low minimums
• & more...