Aluminum is the next, best answer to sustainable beauty packaging.
It is the packaging material of the past and of the future, and of the past, and of the future
and of the past…
Aluminum is an infinitely recyclable material. And one that does not lose value or structural integrity through each cycle, which is exactly why aluminum is what the cosmetics and personal care industry has been seeking for years.
Metal Packaging is Newly Important for Cosmetics and Personal Care Brands
Let’s look at why the beauty industry is on the verge of an aluminum revolution in 2021.
Back in mid 2018, beauty journalist Cheryl Wischover wrote an item for racked about aluminum tubes. At the time, Aluminum tubes were having a real moment on Instagram.
Wischover ran through the pros and cons, and highlighted several brands and products, including Summer Friday’s popular Jet Lag Mask, Aesop, & Other Stories, Grown Alchemist, and more.
Like so many Instagram moments, this aluminum tube fad was mostly aesthetic or cosmetic (if you will). In fact, Wischover ends her exploration of aluminum tubes, conceding that “Aluminum tubes look great. The end.”
But this social media fad served as a proof of concept effort and an instance of consumer education in action.
And that fad marked the beginning of a beauty packaging movement that fills so many of the requirements in the shift to a circular economy.
Demand for Aluminum and Stainless Steel Beauty Packaging Sees a Lift
Beauty makers of every size are in on the transition to metal materials: Gillette’s new Planet KIND brand includes a shave cream packaged in an aluminum jar.
Everist, the new hair brand you heard me speak about just a couple of videos back, sells its innovative shampoo concentrate in an aluminum tube.
Eva NYC, a hair brand from Heat Makes Sense (the Brooklyn-based company behind Amika) just changed over to aluminum packaging.
Terraycle’s Loop return-for-refill service uses aluminum for an array of products including hair care from P&G’s Pantene and Unilever’s Love Beauty and Planet.
And Dew Mighty sells customers a small steel box to store the waterless jelly serum bar in.
Early-Stage Investment Companies are Backing Metal Beauty Packaging
And perhaps even more indicative of the metal movement is the recent Ad Astra Ventures investment in packaging startup Verity.
Verity is the packaging company behind deodorant brand Noniko’s distinctive refillable stainless-steel tubes.
Are Metal Materials the Answer to Sustainable Beauty Packaging?
What interesting sustainable beauty packaging options have you seen lately? Do leave a comment. As I often remind people, I don’t know what’s happening in beauty unless
you tell me!
Thanks so much.
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this DUviews item was originally posted to LinkedIn and now appears on DeannaUtroske.com
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