Status quo: Refillable solutions

Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in the production of packaging – not least because consumers are paying more attention to this issue. The possibilities of whether refillable packaging can be the future and what role recycled plastics can play are therefore discussed more and more frequently.

These are the questions we asked the experts:

• How much material/raw materials can be saved by using refillable cosmetic packaging?
• Which materials and dosage forms are best suited for refilling cosmetic and personal care products?
• How can you ensure, during the refilling process, that the product is not contaminated by residues with germs?
• Could you imagine that the refill also takes place in stationary retail? Where are the difficulties here?
• Not everything can be refilled. How high do you think the market share of refillable packging could be in the medium and long term?

How much material can be saved by using refillable cosmetic packaging depends on the percentage of recyclable material that we choose. Currently, it is made of 25%, 50%, or 75% of virgin material for refillable cosmetic packaging as our pre production samples. However, concerning this, we are still carrying out research.

For stability from germs, certifications would be supplied from raw material suppliers. Thus, we think it is possible to be suited for any widely used dosage forms. We think refillable packaging can be used in the cosmetic market connected with plastic products in the future. In order to increase recyclability, we started developing droppers which use mono material, TPE, compared with current droppers using multiple materials. Also, we developed another dropper only using PE for bulb, and spring instead of using rubber, and metal for each part to encrease recacle rate.

Sustainability may require consumers to compromise in terms of performance and aesthetic features, because sustainable items may not perform as well as items made of virgin materials and may not be as beautiful either. Minimising those compromises is another big challenge for us to improve and solve.

How much material can be saved really depends on each packaging design, structures, and capacity. To give concrete references with some of our products, the ampoule program (4ml) allows you to save up to 52% of plastic by refilling its inner bottle. Our refillable airless series increases the rate at 66%, while our premium refillable cream jar reaches a striking 95%¹.

Today more than ever before, consumers are looking for products which are both sustainable and fitted to their various needs in terms of design, capacity, dosage etc. We believe that it is up to the packaging manufacturers to adapt themselves to the market and not the other way round. With our engineering know-how, we are redefining what can be refillable in different materials. In fact, we have such an extensive portfolio that you can find small refillable airless designed as ampoules made of PP and PETG, alongside of bigger bottles made of beautiful real glass, refillable via their inner plastic bottles.

The filling process and its success are related to the brands and their fillers. As a packaging manufacturer we guarantee the supply of reliable and easily refillable structures, including refill caps for both formula protection until the first use, and a convenient refilling gesture.

Only a few years ago, both our customers and users had prejudices about eco friendly products as “more expensive and less convenient to use”. In 2021, we believe that this conventional wisdom is evolving with in one hand, a much stronger sustainability awareness from the users, and in the other hand ground breaking innovations in terms of “eco-engineering”.

Thus, we see the future of ecofriendly products, refillable ones included, as brighter than ever. We even believe that sustainability for packaging will take steps forward.

In fact, we are pushing the innovation even further by making ‘one material’ packaging, meaning products made of only poly olefin family materials (PP, PE) entirely recyclable together. For example, we developed an airless pump made of only PP and PE including the spring. We believe this is the best way to achieve the circular economy that our planet and future generations deserve. 

References

¹ The rate calculations have been performed on a limited sampling in lab for promotion purposes only. Such dates are not included in the product specification manual and must be taken as commercial references only.