The beauty industry has a plastic problem. We know, we know…you've heard it before. And yes, sustainable beauty packaging isn't exactly the sexiest of topics. But the simple fact is, all our tossed away empties are said to produce a staggering 120 billion items of plastic waste every year, so it's a problem we can't (and shouldn't) ignore.
While many brands are committing to 100% recyclable packaging by 2025 in line with the UK Plastics Pact, recycling single-use plastic isn't necessarily the answer. According to Greenpeace, less than 10% of ‘everyday plastic’ – the plastic packaging that the things we buy is wrapped in – actually gets recycled in the UK.
Why? A lack of recycling facilities, the high cost and availability of sustainable materials and consumer behaviour (a lot of people still don’t recycle at home) are all to blame.
The problem is so great, that one packaging supplier predicts a 46% increase in plastic waste by 2030 if something doesn't change – a statistic that is all the more worrying given a lot of plastic finds its way into our oceans, where it eventually enters our food chain.
But a new, world-first innovation in sustainable packaging for the beauty industry could change all that.
A new two-part pump and refill system patented by the International Institute For Active Ageing (IIAA) was revealed at The British Beauty Council's Plastic Solutions Summit in London today, claiming to reduce plastic use by up to 97% (with the remaining 3% being fully recyclable).
Most products with a pump function – think your hand wash, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner – contain up to five different materials, which makes recycling virtually impossible.
“The bottom line: if you want to make something more sustainable, the first thing that you must do is you must use less material,” says design consultant Joseph Alpert, who has worked alongside the IIAA on this project.
The first thing that makes the IIAA's design different from other sustainable beauty systems on the market today is its refill. “You have a dispenser that you keep for life and then a refill," he adds. “And the refill is where all of the innovation is.” Joseph explains that rather than being a rigid container, the refill acts like a soft bag “made from a material called ‘paper foam’, which is made from waste potato starch and paper in Holland.”
The second is that you can separate the components – and then recycle the inner lining and compost the outer packaging at home. “So it's not like the coffee cups that you get, where they're still going to behave like plastic unless they end up in one of the industrial composting facilities,” Joseph notes. “90% of the weight of this product is now home compostable, and then the rest of it you send for recycling. And that saving in plastic weight is a big environmental impact.”
As for the pump, it's airless and squeezes the product upwards, eliminating the need for metal springs. The design also lends itself to 3D printing, which is more cost-effective than current single-use plastic packaging, especially for beauty start-ups. It also promises to appeal to luxury beauty brands as the design can be made more bespoke.
But the best bit? This innovation is free for the beauty industry to use – after all, there's no point having a disruptive innovation if it's kept under wraps, especially when the planet is at stake.
