PACKAGING WEIGHT DEBATE
While Cohen has experienced clients asking to add weights into compacts made from Knoll’s lightweight, sustainable material Ecoform Molded Pulp, he adds: “Our job is to challenge the norms. I said [to those clients] ‘I don’t care! We created something that was meant to be lighter and was meant to be sustainably focused’.” In answer to the question ‘will the customer accept a lighter package?’ Cohen answers: “A year ago, no. But now I would say that brands are accepting that – even in compacts, which are traditionally meant to feel a certain way.”
CRAFTING KEEPSAKES
At the other end of the spectrum are refill options that lean into the traditional cues of luxury with heavy, reusable packaging in noble materials, developed to be kept as an objet d’art. “Glass and ceramic are good alternatives to conventional resins like plastics to transform outer packaging into keepsake objects,” says re-sources’ Lagarde. “Some alternative versions with ceramic are coming into the market allowing for artisan collaboration with brands, conveying a sense of exclusivity through special editions.” 2022’s refillable Dries Van Noten Eau de Parfum bottle, which features ten ‘shells’ on the bottom of the bottle in four materials – porcelain, plastic, wood and metal – combined with glass from Stoelzle Masnières Parfumerie, is a prize-winning example of this in action. Faca’s Beneyto, meanwhile, demonstrates a refillable jar that one can keep ‘for months’ where “it makes sense to keep a certain degree of complexity and to use heavier, more complex materials, and focus on making the cartridge lighter, usable and practical”.
But, once again, there are caveats. As Bakic states: “The refill approach works perfectly as long
Dries Van Noten’s new packs (below) are refillable and made from glass, porcelain, wood, plastic and metal, while Knoll’s keepsake spinning advent calendar for MAC (bottom) also has a plastic free mechanism
as the customer remains brand and product loyal, and goes through multiple product cycles to offset the more material that refill systems initially have.” Here he notes that trend-driven products where a high level of switching occurs might have an environmental disadvantage with refill systems, “because they’re only purchased once or twice before being discarded”. However, premium skin care products with a low switching likelihood are ideal for refill systems.
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS So, in the great weight debate for beauty, is there a preferred solution? Simon Dix, Managing Director of Vetroplas Packaging, believes: “There is no one simple answer to this, and many factors have to be taken into account.
“For example, it may be that a glass bottle produced with 50% PCR material, or with a heavier weight is more green than one made with 100% PCR or a lighter weight depending on its production location and delivery point.” Bakic further observes: “Brands and manufacturers shouldn’t choose a lightweight packaging made of non-recyclable material over a recyclable option that is heavier.”
But there is potential – within reason – to strike a balance, according to Mintel’s Punchard. “[Lightweighting and keepsake] can work in harmony,” he says. “By shifting the functionality – rigidity, dispensing, dosing, application, etc – to the refillable pack, the brand is able to simplify the single-use fill pack.” Similarly, Cohen points to the spinning 2022 advent calendar that Knoll created for MAC. “There are certain items and experiences that warrant being a keepsake,” he tells Cosmetics Business. “Advent calendars are a perfect example. But there are still ways to engineer it that are smart. Right now, we’re really looking at the little details.
“For example, that MAC advent calendar which spins, I would say two years ago we would have engineered a plastic mechanism on the inside to allow it to spin like that,” he adds. “Instead, we focused on ‘how can this be plastic-free in terms of the mechanism?’ “Getting paper-on-paper to spin is really difficult. So it requires engineering and effort – even if something is heavier – to still make smarter decisions about the materials and the design.” He notes: “Our customers sometimes focus in on one aspect and they’ll say ‘this package needs to be as light as possible’ – and it’s our job, as a supplier, a manufacturer and an innovator, to reframe that as much as possible into a holistic approach.” Faca’s Beneyto, for one, is ultimately in favour of avoiding oversizing.
“By itself, [lightweighting] is a good trend, because it’s got a lot of advantages,” he says. “The rest will come after that: the value chain will adapt [and] decoration techniques may be adapted. It is the right trend not to oversize or over-design, because, functionally speaking, it is not needed”
28 June 2023
cosmeticsbusiness.com
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