Decreasing the use of virgin plastic
This November, the brand has started introducing five shampoo and conditioner collections in primary packaging made from Eastman Renew resins with 50% certified recycled plastic. Five Herbal Essences bio:renew sulfate-free collections, including the Aloe Vera lineup, will be upgraded to Eastman Renew materials beginning this month. These will be followed by two new collections coming to market in January 2022. These new packages will also include standardized How2Recycle® labels to clarify recycling instructions and encourage recycling

“It’s on all of us to make a difference and create a more sustainable future where plastics are truly recycled, reused and out of nature,” explains Herbal Essences principal scientist Rachel Zipperian. “Making this package change to Eastman Renew materials reduces the brand’s dependence on virgin plastic and helps us bring the world one step closer to making plastic a circular resource.”

Diverting plastic wastes from landfills
Eastman Renew materials are made via Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies using waste plastic. According to the producer of resins, without this technology, this plastic waste “would end up in landfills.”

These recycling technologies complement traditional recycling, expanding the types and amounts of plastics that can be recycled. “This gives materials an extended useful life and diverts plastic waste from landfills or the environment,” adds Eastman.

“We are excited to see our partnership with Procter & Gamble reach consumers’ hands with the launch of these Herbal Essences packages,” said Chris Layton, Eastman sustainability director for plastics and circular solutions. “We are delivering solutions to the plastic waste problem right now and look forward to the continued collaboration with P&G as a leading partner.”

In addition to P&G, other cosmetic giants, such as Estée Lauder or LVMH have also partnered with Eastman to use Eastman Renew materials and decrease the use of virgin plastics in beauty packaging.

Primarily aimed at the food and converter markets, Camvac’s latest film development increases the company’s sustainable barrier layer packaging film solutions.

Machine-direction orientation (MDO) film has a growing presence in food and consumer packaging. In recent months the confectionary and snacks marketplace has been requesting the industry for a metallised MDO PE based film.

This request includes the requirement to provide a barrier coating suitable for conversion and lamination to similar product family materials, creating a mono-film laminate solution for conversion into the end-product packaging.

This development facilitates the opportunity for recycling within the circular economy.

Camvac’s barrier technology has delivered a solution with their latest commercial development being available in 20 and 25 micron gauges.

MDO technology has numerous benefits for a film material.

Processing film material via MDO enhances the properties of the film and offers the opportunity for costs to be reduced. MDO films are incredibly stable when compared to ‘standard PE’, which facilitates the potential to reduce the gauge resulting, which in turn uses less material being used, which in turn leads to a reduction in product packaging, transport costs and a reduced carbon footprint.

Taking the raw MDO PE film, Camvac has used their unique, patented technology, adding barrier to the film via their Camplus Extra process.

The Camplus Extra technology produces an MDO polyethylene film that has dramatically improved metal adhesion, offering higher inter-ply bond strength and enhanced barrier.

The single-web metallised MDO PE offers the converter a high barrier, OTR and MVTR, polyethylene film that can be laminated to another PE substrate to create a mono-material film for conversion into a recyclable flexible packaging pack. These laminate film structures may predominantly feature in the snack food marketplace, including crisp packaging and similar end-uses.

Key benefits of the latest development include;

–         Reduced film thickness

–         Reduced packaging costs

–         Possibility of 100% mono-material structures that can be recycled

–         Lamination grade of high barrier metallised PE film material

–         High pressure resistance

–         Exceptional barrier performance both MVTR & OTR

–         Available in 20um and 25um single-web structures

–         Camplus Extra process to surpass the necessary barrier requirement the market demands.

Gary Chalkley, Development Director at Camvac, states “Developing a high barrier metallised MDO PE offers the converters and ultimately the end-users the possibility of a mono-material laminate for the snack market which can be recycled. The Technical and Production Teams here at Camvac have worked in parallel to develop a high barrier MDO PE film solution. Utilising Camvac’s barrier technology has created an exceptional a film with exceptional barrier performance. Utilising it’s unique patented Camplus Extra technology to metallise the PE Camvac has delivered the barrier requirement for the snack market. This is the first development commercially available of barrier MDO PE from Camvac and we are already close to commercially launching clear barrier solutions.“

This innovation joins Camvac’s growing range of Sustainable Packaging Solutions within their Camvert range of films which is primarily targeting the food and converter marketplace.

As Camvac continues to invest and develop new packaging films, the company is continually seeking new opportunities to partner with likeminded companies and would welcome any opportunity to discuss new partnerships – not only for their Sustainable Packaging Film but also their other packaging solutions.

Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer Stora Enso has added a sustainable packaging solution to its Trayforma range for ready meals.

Named Trayforma PET34, the packaging includes less than 10% polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic content.

It is suitable for conventionally heated food packaging applications as it can withstand temperatures of up to 220°C.

In addition, the solution can be processed in fibre-based packaging recycling streams due to its considerably reduced use of fossil-based barrier materials.

Stora Enso said that the improved recycling properties of its low-carbon Trayforma range also help it to secure recyclable labelling in the UK and other markets.

Stora Enso Liquid Packaging Board (LPB) Fresh and Food Service Boards (FSB) business line vice-president Tuomas Puonti said: “We believe Trayforma products will have many future applications because they are low-carbon and help brand owners reduce their carbon footprint and use of fossil materials, offering these benefits to consumers.

“Thanks to its renewable origin in wood fibre and its optimised barrier options, the Trayforma range offers the right performance and several alternatives for the ready meals category, now also better fit for recycling.”

Stora Enso’s Trayforma is a wood fibre-based material designed for frozen and chilled food.

The Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) today announced that it has joined the Pulpex partner consortium, becoming the consortium’s first prestige beauty company to support the development of a recyclable paper bottle made from responsibly sourced pulp.

Pulpex is a first-of-its-kind technology that creates bottles from wood pulp using FSC-certified renewable feedstocks from responsibly managed forests. The new paper bottle is designed to be widely recyclable in standard waste streams and will support The Estée Lauder Companies’ efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging across the lifecycle.

As a member of the Pulpex partner consortium, The Estée Lauder Companies joins a group of leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, including Diageo, Unilever, PepsiCo, GSK Consumer Healthcare and Castrol, committed to developing the innovative paper bottle packaging. The goal of the consortium is to help ensure that the Pulpex bottle is quickly scaled and widely adopted across multiple product categories. The Estée Lauder Companies is the consortium’s first prestige beauty partner, with the opportunity to scale the Pulpex paper bottling technology across its brand portfolio.

Scaling of this technology will support The Estée Lauder Companies efforts in driving progress towards its global sustainable packaging goals including the company’s latest commitment to reduce the amount of virgin petroleum plastic in its packaging to 50% or less by the end of calendar year 2030. The company has also committed to use responsibly sourced paper products whenever possible, with a goal of achieving 100% FSC-certified forest-based fiber cartons and 75-100% recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled or recoverable packaging by 2025.

“Exploring alternative materials and more responsible concepts into our packaging design is a strategic imperative, but we know we can’t do it alone. Scaling innovation will be key to driving sustainable packaging solutions,” said Daniel Ramos, Senior Vice President, Global Packaging.  “At The Estée Lauder Companies, we’ve long understood the importance of partnership across industries in helping to drive meaningful change. Collaboration plays a significant role in achieving our ambition, and as part of the Pulpex consortium, we are proud to help advance solutions not only for our brands and consumers but also for the industry at large.”

“Pulpex is fully committed to collaborating with partners across industries to create a more sustainable future,” said Scott Winston, CEO, Pulpex. “We are thrilled to partner with The Estée Lauder Companies as the first leader in beauty to join our consortium of leading companies working to create innovative packaging solutions that are better for both our consumers and the planet.”