Choose reuse

The reusable system is already well known in other fields of application: A deposit is charged on many beverage bottles, and the bottle is returned to retailers so that after cleaning it can be refilled or more easily recycled. In the cosmetics industry, the topic is in its early stages, but more and more pioneers are looking at sustainable materials, refill and return solutions for cosmetics packaging. The trend is now casting its shadow beyond the product onto shipping.

E-commerce in particular is becoming increasingly popular for selling cosmetics, with sales growing to €823 million by 2022, accounting for around 22% of cosmetics sales. But e-commerce also has a waste problem: In Germany alone, the mail order business generates around 4.5 billion parcel shipments a year and thus 50 kg of waste - per second! Over 99% of the goods are sent in disposable cartons and mailing bags. So, is the solution to simply use recyclable and recycled material for packaging production?

In the EU today, 50% of all paper consumption is used exclusively for packaging. It is true that the recycling rate of recovered paper in Europe was around 71% in 2022. But even with the use of recycled paper, the new production of cartons requires significant amounts of energy, water and forest land. Even the efficiency improvements of recent years have been offset by increased consumption: In Germany, for example, around 69% more paper, cardboard and cardboard packaging was produced in 2022 than in 1990. The disposable products are produced for the garbage can. The simple RRR rule shows how to avoid waste:

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

The best packaging is that which is not produced in the first place, with frequent reuse coming in second. Only at the end of the lifecycle is good recycling.

Reusable packaging is therefore also trending in the parcel sector. There are already a variety of solutions made of cardboard or plastic, recycled and/or recyclable, with a service life of 3 to 50 cycles, usually in conjunction with an IT solution that ensures the return of the packaging. Because reusable packaging is more elaborate to produce, it has to be used frequently to make it economically and ecologically worthwhile. In the fashion sector, reusable mailer bags are also used, but for cosmetic products, only sturdy boxes meet the requirements for product safety and convenience. The circular loop of shipping packaging always looks similar: The online retailer buys or rents the packaging and offers reusable shipping in the online store. The goods are packaged sustainably and delivered to the customers by the parcel service provider. The customers return the packaging empty and folded via mailbox or the usual parcel network. In the warehouse or at the fulfillment of the online retailer, the packaging is checked and potentially cleaned before the next use. Compared to disposable boxes, reusable boxes save waste and CO2 with every rotation. According to a life cycle assessment by the environmental consultancy Ökopol (2023), hey circle boxes saves around three-quarters of CO2 emissions and around 94% of waste, including returns, which are necessary every time. From as early as the tenth cycle, reusable packaging is CO2-advantageous compared to disposable cartons, there is less waste even way earlier. The most common areas of application for reusable shipping packaging are currently:

• Closed-loop: e.g. business customer shipping (e.g. salons).

• Click & collect orders and express deliveries in urban

• Intralogistics and store replenishment In these three examples, packaging can be easily bundled for returns. End-customer shipping follows slightly different rules due to return packaging costs: After all, there are virtually no returns and select orders in the cosmetics industry. Nevertheless, there are five points in favour of using reusable packaging:

• High shopping cart value for premium brands and consumers’ willingness to pay a small amount for sustainable packaging.

• Increase in refill and reusable product packaging.

• Consumers want to be able to make environmentally conscious decisions.

• The online retailer achieves its own CSR or ESG targets.

• EU targets for a quota on reusable shipping packaging, which forces online retailers to address their packaging sustainability.

The amount of disposable waste in the EU continues to increase – around 20% in the past ten years. Sophisticated customers demand more sustainable action from their retailers and their brands – this can even influence consumers to switch brands. Reducing waste through sustainable shipping is a good way to support several goals. And, sustainable packaging providers are researching special solutions for the cosmetics industry and cooperate in order to make the return of reusable packaging even more convenient, cheaper and even more sustainable with a return network in retail.