“Green Packaging” Offers Beautiful Designs without Harming the Planet

“Green Packaging”

Offers Beautiful Designs without Harming the Planet

Global warming and various pollution issues have contributed to the rise of “Sustainable Trend” where every industry including beauty industry jumping on the bandwagon to adopt more sustainable approaches for the environment. Many have turned to natural ingredients and packaging designs that are least harmful to the ecosystem as their solutions.

In addition to incorporating more natural ingredients into their cosmetics or skin care formulas and avoid chemical additives, packaging that is eco-friendly is another priority for many brands. It is undeniably one of the most distinguished features consumers look for when purchasing a product. It also adds value and attractiveness to the brand image while suppoting with the popular “beauty without harming the planet” movement.

Did you know that the beauty and cosmetic industry generates a huge amount of packaging waste each year? The Zero Waste organization reports that there are more than 1.2 million pieces of waste from the beauty industry every year, and most of which is non-recyclable. This has contributed to the rise of the sustainable beauty trend. Therefore, an attempt to lessen the impact on the environment by using eco-friendly or recyclable packaging as well as incorporating manufacturing innovations that help reduce carbon dioxide emissions can really go a long way in healing the ailing world and nurture it back to health.

According to Mintel research, the majority of Gen Z consumers greatly value sustainability and social consciousness. They also expect their self-worth to be reflected in the brands they purchase, with 76% making more efforts to protect the environment and around 25% willing to pay more for products that are labeled as sustainable. Consequently, modern consumers not only consciously opt for products that feature natural ingredients with good quality, they also pay attention to the aesthetics of the packaging design and materials used in the production whether they are from recycled materials or are recyclable.

Traditionally, plastics are the most popular materials used to produce cosmetic packaging. However, plastics take thousands of years to decompose, and can leave behind microplastics that are detrimental to the health of humans and the environment. This is why more and more brands are turning to natural or recycled materials for their packaging. Some examples of these materials include bamboo, seaweed, beeswax, and mushrooms. Other materials that have also captured attention in the recent years include bioplastics and biodegradable paper.

Bioplastics are plastics made from natural materials such as sugar cane, potato, corn, banana peel, or cassava. They have the advantage of being naturally biodegradable, recyclable, can reduce the amount of waste, and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emission which is the opposite of the traditional plastics which releases a great amount of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, the eco-friendly packaging made from biodegradable paper can decompose into small pieces by microorganisms in the soil which will generate water, carbon dioxide, or biomass which can be circulated back to the natural ecosystem. However, the rate of biodegradation will depend on various factors such as the environment, the location, the temperature, and the usage of the materials.

If you are interested in eco-friendly packaging, and would like to upgrade your beauty products so they stand out in the market while being sustainable, don’t miss COSMEX 2023 during 7-9 November at BITEC, Bangkok to get more useful information and meet with ideal suppliers who can help you create the look of success!