Beauty & Personal Care Packaging in Uncertain Times

Packaging concepts are being steered toward popular formats, including refillables and monomaterials; photo by Carlos Rodríguez at Unsplash.
Packaging concepts are being steered toward popular formats, including refillables and monomaterials; photo by Carlos Rodríguez at Unsplash.

When visiting McKernan Packaging Clearing House on the Cosmoprof Las Vegas show floor this past July, the company was highlighting its offer of free freight on purchases of specific catalog items at set minimums. The clever offer shows just how impacted brands are by freight costs amid supply chain and inflation challenges. Elsewhere on the show floor we saw some brands conserving cash and buying readily available packaging as needed, rather than warehousing components. At least for some, the return to just-in-time practices was in full resurgence.

But, beyond the business maneuverings, the real news out of Luxe Pack NY, Cosmoprof and the news cycle has been sustainable innovation. Gwenaelle Ogor, general manager, Innovative Beauty Group (IBG) France, recently told us, “We have a dashboard which gives us CO2 emissions data according to the mode of transportation used. We are able to discuss with our clients the CO2 impact of using air, sea or land transport. We are also able to break down the materials used in products by their weight to optimize product design and gauge CO2 impacts.”

She added more insights into how this level of detail extends into packaging: “We offer incredible mono-material concepts as often as we can and utilize materials with existing recycling streams like PE, PP and PET, while avoiding materials with no recycling stream or recycling disruptors. We also include recycled material wherever possible.”

Ogor continued, “To work on this challenge our parent company has joined the Ellen McArthur new circular economy commitment and partners with NGOs and environmental experts to develop and implement solutions to improve the environmental performance of the entire packaging value chain … Brands can join the Ellen McArthur new circular economy commitment to develop and implement solutions to improve the environmental impact of the entire packaging value chain. They can also reach out to us, and we can walk them through the process of sustainability options in packaging and the associated environmental impact.”

For the full article, check out Global Cosmetic Industry's September 2022 digital magazine.

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