Reducing packaging weight: COSSMA

When it comes to creating more sustainable beauty packaging, a lot can be achieved by recycling and reusing materials – but how about not using those materials in the first place? Companies can opt for a number of approaches in reducing the weight, materials, and particularly plastics contained in their packaging. The industry is therefore called upon to look for new solutions step by step in order to come closer to the goal of combining the elements of recycling, reusing and reducing in the best possible way.

Reducing the material used in packaging is an important step towards building a more sustainable beauty industry. In this way, not only do we conserve vital resources and possibly eliminate the use of harmful substances, reducing the weight of packaging also means emitting less CO2 along the supply chain. After all, a material not used always has less impact on the environment than even the most natural and environmentally friendly alternative. This is why Kneipp has set itself the goal of reducing the use of packaging materials to a minimum. In its 2022 Environmental Report, the company has committed to reducing its packaging material and managed to do so by 5% until 2021, when compared to 2018. In accomplishing this, there are different approaches to consider.

Developing new packaging

Whenever a new piece of packaging is designed, one of the main guiding principles should be: as much as necessary, as little as possible. There are several questions to keep in mind when thinking about this: Which materials are suitable for this particular packaging and product? What is the most sustainable option? Which shape is the most efficient in its use of resources?

In its new packaging regulation, the EU plans to introduce stricter requirements from 2030. As part of its sustainability strategy, Kneipp has already set targets for the recyclability of its packaging that significantly exceed the corresponding requirements of the EU draft Packaging Regulation. The company aims at the full recyclability of all its cosmetics packaging, and is committed to eliminating all petroleum-based plastics from its packaging range by the end of 2025. In order to do so, Kneipp is focusing on the use of natural raw materials like cork and silphia paper as well as plastic-alternatives including Paper Blend and forewood. In adopting this approach, an open mind is necessary. After all, we can’t know today what the best solution of tomorrow will be.

One example of Kneipp combining several approaches to reduce material use is the design of its jars for the Almond Blossom Creams and Foot Butter, which has received the Red Dot Design award. The lid of these products is made of forewood material developed by Stuttgart-based start-up rezemo and is produced entirely from renewable raw materials. It contains PEFC-certified wood fibers from forests in southern Germany, which are a byproduct of wood-processing methods, as well as binders made from corn or sugar canes. The jar is manufactured using 35–40% recycled glass, while the label consists of FSC-certified paper with an easy-to-wash adhesive and the inner sealing disc is made using sugarcane-based polyethylene.

This mix of materials contributes to more resource-saving packaging and the elimination of plastics. Glass and paper already have good recycling rates in Germany. The wood fibers used in the forewood and the plant starch binder are potentially compostable industrially. In addition, switching to a new 50 ml jar allowed for a weight reduction of approximately 5%.

When it comes to reducing material use, efficiency is also key. If possible, packaging products should be harmonised to match and minimise the number of components. Therefore, Kneipp designed the forewood-based lids to match jar sizes between 50 and 150 ml.&nb

"Reducing the weight of packaging also means emitting less CO₂ along the supply chain."

Optimising conventional packaging

If we are to achieve our sustainability goals, it is not enough to look for optimised solutions when developing new packaging alternatives. It is absolutely crucial to continuously analyse and review the packaging portfolio and compare it with the latest developments in sustainability. Kneipp regularly identifies the product categories with the greatest potential to make a difference. To do this, both internal experience and close collaboration with partners and suppliers are drawn on to keep abreast of new developments.

The most obvious pathway in optimising packaging is by making it thinner and smaller – as done with the 200ml tubes for Kneipp’s shower products for men. Of course, it’s important that the quality of the packaging and the product itself do not decline in quality, which needs to be confirmed through testing. The result: thinner walls which result in a reduction in plastic use of 30% per tube body and flatter lids that reduce the amount of plastic per lid up to 30%. For the Kneipp Men range, the flatter lids alone result in approximately 12.95 tons of plastic saved per year, equivalent to the weight of approximately three adult elephants. The lids are now being successively introduced for all tubes in the Kneipp product range.

Another example: redesigning the Kneipp gift packs resulted in the use of 50% less cardboard, which saves up to 10 tons of paper and up to 100,000 liters of water1 per year and product type.

And then there is glass – a material which receives less attention in terms of sustainability but is definitely on the heavier side in terms of weight, which is why every gram counts. Already in 2007, Kneipp worked on the weight of its 100ml glass bottles and was able to reduce it by 9 grams. Sounds insignificant? Based on 6 million bottles per year, this reduction already resulted in around 35 tons of CO2 savings.

One goal, many options

When it comes to reducing packaging, the question arises: Is reducing weight always the better choice, or is it worth investing in more sustainable (plastic) alternatives instead? What if the more sustainable material turns out to be heavier? And, what really is the more sustainable material? There is certainly no one-size-fits-all solution to this quandary. Mobility, for example, plays an important role. If transportation could be designed in a more CO2-neutral way, the significance of the weight in designing packing would be significantly reduced.

These are questions that need to be carefully considered, weighing up the respective pros and cons. Yet, there is no time to waste in awaiting the perfect solution. Instead, the path to more sustainable solutions lies in a process of constant improvement – and transformation is only possible if impetus is constantly provided.

Sebastian Kneipp, the company’s founder, believed in the importance of treating nature responsibly, and this core idea has been rooted in its business since its inception – long before it became a public issue. We established a Sustainability Working Group in 2010 to initiate and monitor new measures in the areas of production, transport, packaging and commitment. In recent years, we have implemented a number of environmentally friendly packaging projects. For these and other efforts, Kneipp received the coveted Platinum ranking from Ecovadis in 2022, the world’s largest provider of sustainability ratings and belongs to the top one percent of all rated companies while also repeatedly being named a Green Brand.

Reducing packaging is definitely an important step towards making it more sustainable. But companies that are serious about their sustainability goals should focus on more than that: recycling, reusing, reducing.

The packaging of the Kneipp almond blossom creams shows that a combination of these measures is possible and that it is worth trying out different approaches. Where less is possible, we should use less. Where we cannot reduce packaging, we should look for resource-saving alternatives. Where we can reuse materials, we should. There’s always room to do more.

"In adopting this approach, an open mind is necessary."

References:

1 The production of 1 ton of paper generates about 10 cubic meters of wastewater, i.e. 10,000 litres. Source: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/wirtschaft-konsum/industriebranchen/holz-zellstoff-papierindustrie/zellstoff-papierindustrie#umweltauswirkungen-