PACKAGING ALUMINIUM
ALU LIKE IT
From developments in materials technology to inspired new uses, aluminium is the beauty and personal care industry’s sustainable material par excellence, as Julia Wray finds out
W
hether you call it aluminium, or aluminum – in the vein of Louis Armstrong’s tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to song – the future is looking shiny
for the 13th element on the periodic table. Long used to house aerosol products, like deodorants, hair sprays, sunscreens and mousses, aluminium is increasingly being adopted as the material of choice for eco-friendly refill packs, and continues to be an object of innovation in terms of usage and materials technology.
The reasons for its popularity are manifold, says Gregor Spengler, who is Head of Packaging, Recycling & Sustainability at Aluminium Deutschland, Secretary General of the International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers (AEROBAL) and Secretary General of the european tube manufacturers association (etma).
“Aluminium provides optimal product protection thanks to its extraordinary barrier properties,” he explains. “Compared with other materials, aluminium packaging is corrosion resistant and shows no signs of material ageing. It is a premium material with a special shine, which provides an eye-catching, upmarket appeal to the consumer.” In addition to its aesthetic plus-points, aluminium is, as Spengler describes it, “a sustainable material par excellence”.
40 September 2022
This is due to it being fully recyclable without a drop in quality. “Unlike other materials, its inherent properties do not change through recycling,” he says. “The energy required to recycle aluminium is about 5% of that needed for primary production, meaning that CO2
emissions are
reduced by 95% compared with average primary aluminium carbon emissions.”
Indeed, Simon Dix, Managing Director of UK packaging company Vetroplas, adds: “Approximately 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in the material loop today, a claim no other material can make.” Dix further flags that aluminium is lighter than alternatives, meaning less energy is used for transportation. And, last but not least, says Spengler, aluminium has the highest scrap value of all packaging materials, “so there is a high financial incentive in the entire value chain to collect, sort and recycle it”.
SPRAY STAYS FRESH
While the latest figures from AEROBAL suggest that the aluminium aerosol can manufacturing industry did not exit the Covid-19 pandemic unscathed (global shipments by AEROBAL members declined 1.2% in 2021 to around 5.6 billion units), the sector has seen no such dip in R&D.
In August, the association named the winners of its 2022 World Aluminium Aerosol Can Award, splitting entrants into three categories: can already on the market; a prototype category; and a sustainability category.
The first category was scooped by Trivium Packaging Argentina for Rexona, the official dance partner of the global pop group Now United (with 14 members from 14 countries).
The can design features members of the group,
and Trivium was said to face a significant level of hands-on work to ensure the members’ faces were of the highest quality in printing, while also maintaining Rexona’s brand positioning, group approval and technical feasibility. Sustainability was scooped by German can manufacturer Linhardt. Its new aerosol cans for the German drugstore Müller’s private label brand AVEO consist of 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) aluminium.
Trivium (below) and Ball (right) were both winners in 2022’s World Aluminium Aerosol Can Award
cosmeticsbusiness.com
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