In October 2018, Albéa became the first beauty packaging company to sign the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. Through this action, Albéa committed to use 100% reusable and recyclable plastic packaging, and 10% post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) by 2025, taking a step further toward circular beauty.
Why PCR? The PCR plastic used in our tubes is based on beverage or milk bottle packs used and upgraded by households through the recycling industry. Reprocessing existing plastics uses less energy and fossil fuels therefore reducing carbon footprint, making PCR an environmentally friendly and circular packaging option.
Offering more circular products means using the purest recycled plastic possible to create our products, as well as helping to maintain supply channels for high-quality recycled plastics.
For this reason, we aim at making our tubes more and more mono-material, with caps in the same material as the tube, while incorporating mechanically or chemically recycled materials, which have a high level of purity.
To guarantee the quality of the PCR plastic used in our packs, we further enhanced our internal protocols for qualifying recycled materials, which enable us to secure a reliable, traceable high-quality PCR supply chain.
PCR pioneering
In 2010, Albéa launched the first tube using PCR integrating 55% of PCR in the sleeve and 50% in the head.
Since 2010, we have developed a complete PCR platform to answer various market needs. We offer a range of PCR tubes for all beauty and personal care applications with different percentages of PCR—from 30% to 100% depending on the blend to better match the brand’s needs.
In 2020, another milestone was the first PCR tube made from chemically recycled plastics, a true revolution in packaging, developed for Origins (The Estée Lauder Companies). This innovation was made possible by SABIC’s latest recycling technology, which converts post-consumer plastic waste into its original molecular form. This material is then reused to create a high-performance plastic, comparable to a new virgin material. This first in the beauty industry paved the way for the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in prestige beauty packaging .
Today, Albéa has a wide selection of PCR tubes using mechanical and chemical recycling. The platform also has options in both extruded and laminate tubes:
· PCR Encore is our classic mix with 55% PCR in the sleeve and 50% in the head
· Max PCR has the maximum PCR content, 70% PCR in the sleeve and 75% in the head
· Beautiful PCR is our Aesthetic PCR integrating an outer layer of virgin resin
· Ultimate offers a mix of PCR and Bio-based resin
· ISCC Certified Recycled Plastic offers a chemical recycling process with “virgin-like” quality
· Newcomer Timeless is a web-based tube with the highest PCR content in the sleeve.
Made in America PCR tubes
In October 2021, Albéa announced a partnership with global leaders U.T.C.G and eXpackUSA to provide beauty and personal care brands with Made in America tubes from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics. eXpackUSA has selected Albéa’s PCR Encore coextruded tube integrating 43% of recycled material and made in Albéa’s facility in Reynosa, Mexico.
This partnership accelerates market uptake of circular, low-environmental impact tube packaging. It will help brands deliver on their own commitments to responsible packaging, while contributing to their ambitions to tackle climate change. In addition, Made in America manufacturing supports local jobs and communities, and enables shorter, more agile and secure supply-chains.
PCR is key to circularity. Therefore, Albéa will continue to develop its PCR platform to offer brands alternatives to move towards more responsible solutions, meet their CSR goals and drive circularity forward.
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