Plastics, made by
Plastics, made by nature, for cosmetics packaging 10 Years ago 10 Years ago Cosmetics Pen made of Bio-Flex F 6510 Beautiful Plastics Made by Nature Just a few cosmetics can be found in pure powder form. A lot of cosmetics are a mixture of chemical substances held in aqueous solutions or alcohol-based solvents. So, resistance and a high barrier against water and alcohol are often basic requirements for any plastics used in cosmetics packaging. Polylactic acid (PLA) and cellulose acetate (CA) are often chosen as raw biopolymers for bioplastics. PLA and CA are described as resistant to fats, water and alcohol [2], but both exhibit only a poor barrier against moisture vapour and alcohol. Furthermore, CA is described as resistant to weak acids. Beauty & Healthcare Jar 3 made of Bio-Flex V 1410 Published in bioplastics MAGAZINE FKuR´s trade name Bio-Flex ® covers copolyester blends based on PLA which – depending on the respective grade – are composed of almost 100% natural resources. Bio-Flex does not contain any starch or starch derivatives. Bioplastics mostly replace conventional materials, i.e. polyethylene of low density (LDPE) and of high density (HDPE) as well as polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Biograde ® is based on cellulose, a product of the paper industry, and has been specially designed for injection moulding applications. Biograde is predominantly obtained from natural resources (European soft wood from sustainable forestry). It does not contain starch or starch derivatives, and has an excellent heat resistance up to 122 °C. It can be transparent – depending on the grade – and is food contact approved. Under the brand name Fibrolon ® , FKuR develops natural fibre reinforced compounds (Wood/Plastic Composites: WPC), which, unlike many other WPCs, can be injection moulded without problems. Fibrolon compounds are characterised by high strengths and stiffness comparable to wood. Fibrolon F 8530 is a biodegradable compound on the basis of polylactic acid (PLA) and other compostable biopolymers. The content of natural resources is almost 100%. Bottle 2 made of Bio-Flex F 6510 (J. Sieben) Beauty & Healthcare Little dish made of Fibrolon F 8530 The applications described emphasise that Bio-Flex, Biograde and Fibrolon can be easily processed on standard injection moulding, blow moulding or extrusion machines. Biograde´s resistance, even to aggressive isododecane (a hydrocarbon ingredient used as a solvent in a number of cosmetic products) opens the wide field of colour cosmetics applications, however the barrier properties of all bioplastics really need to be improved. Eyeliner Pencil made of Biograde C 7500 CL [1] Cosmoprof study in co-operation with Formes de Luxe (2005) [2] Endres, H.-J., Siebert-Raths, A., Technische Biopolymere. Hanser Publishers (2009) www.fkur.com Beautiful Plastics Made by Nature bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/09] Vol. 4 11 Article contributed by Dr. Christian Bonten Director of Technology and Marketing FKuR Kunststoff gmbH Willich germany Pad bag made of Bio-Flex F 1130 Cosmetic Pens made of Fibrolon F 8530 B eauty, and our constant efforts to achieve it, are an expression of luxury. And this expression is reflected not only in the contents but also in the packaging. Cosmetics and bodycare are a broad field of applications and a systematic approach is necessary. Let us divide the field of cosmetics applications into the following groups: • Hair Care (hairspray, shampoo, hair colorants, conditioner, curling aids) • Colour Cosmetics (lipsticks, eye cosmetics, nail cosmetics, make-up) • Bath and Shower (bath and shower soaps and syndets) • Deodorants and anti-perspirants, • Men´s grooming (razors and shavers, shaving foam and gel, aftershave) • Oral hygiene (toothpaste, tooth brushes, mouth wash, products for dentures) • Fragrances (perfumes, EDTs) • Skin Care (facial care, body lotion and powder, sun protection, hand and nail creme, depilatories) There are a number of major trends in the cosmetics industry [1]. The population in the developed countries of the world is getting older. This will drive the demand for skin care and premium colour cosmetics. Furthermore, young girls (8-12 years) increasingly use cosmetics and their parents help choose them together with the girls. This will lead to more colourful and striking packaging with more unusual shapes. Another trend is that teenagers have their own money to buy cosmetics, but their limited budgets mean that they have to buy mass market products in retail stores. The fourth trend is that men increasingly use cosmetics, so premium men‘s cosmetics will grow more strongly. It is obvious that, in all of the above-mentioned groups of applications, the requirements placed on plastics are very different. But if plastics are used as packaging, the requirements become clear and manageable. Cosmetics packaging producers often ask for availability, processability on standard machines (extrusion or injection moulding, printing, assembly), chemical resistance to the cosmetic product, a barrier against the carrier solution (often water or alcohol), mechanical properties (tensile strength and impact strength, stiffness), aesthetic appearance (surface quality, printability etc.). tinyurl.com/2009cosmetic 48 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14 10 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/09] Vol. 4
Brand owners In March 2019, Patrick Zimmermann, Director Marketing & Sales of FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, said: Brand-Owner’s perspective on bioplastics and how to unleash its full potential “Taking into consideration our customer feedback and our desire to be great neighbors, we have been taking a careful look at our packaging and the opportunities that exist to make improvements, with respect to sustainability. Since 2009 the bioplastic world has changed a lot. New materials have been developed and new market segments have been explored. At the same time the portfolio of FKuR has increased during the last 10 years. With the distribution of Green PE (Braskem) and Bio-PET (Fenc), as well as with the development of Terralene ® , a tailor made Green PE compound and Terraprene ® , a family of partly biobased TPE, we are now in the situation to serve the special needs of the cosmetic market. In 2009 we faced a lack of suitable materials in terms of barrier properties, easy processing and recyclability. For the time being we were able to provide intelligent Bio-Flex ® and Biograde ® compounds with advanced features which were a first step to bridge the gap. However, we still worked hard on convincing customers to replace conventional PE for a tube for example with a Bio-Flex material or on using a Biograde instead of SAN for a jar. Since 2012 we have been able to supply material solutions to produce bottles, tubes, caps, hinges and jars with the same properties as the petrochemicals. The market is still challenging and the requirements are still very high in terms of haptics, designs, processing and of course shelf life. However, especially with our todays broad portfolio and tailor made solutions we are able to provide the perfect solution for those kind of requests and offer our customers a previously unknown design freedom in the production of his packaging. The shape, color and feel of the packaging transports the image of a product and bioplastics ideally support the sustainable message of a brand. We created a framework to help us and our vendor partners, with whom we work closely in this effort, to identify packaging improvement opportunities. This sustainability framework is based on the following principles: 1. Reducing and removing packaging 2. Sourcing renewable and recycled packaging materials 3. Choosing packaging that can be realistically recycled 4. Avoiding the use of harmful substances in packaging 5. Providing information to customers that increases understanding of how best to recycle or dispose of packaging Here are some of our achievements to date: • We stopped offering single-use plastic carryout bags in all stores across the country. • We replaced plastic produce bags with biodegradable & compostable produce bags for the convenience of carrying loose or “by-the-each” fruits and vegetables. • We eliminated any remaining Styrofoam packages in our produce section and replaced them with bio-based, compostable trays.” MT (Source:www.traderjoes.com/announcement/packaging-improvements) Trader Joes in Amherst, New York (Photo Sikander Iqbal, CC 4.0) Trader Joe’s is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of October 2017, Trader Joe’s has 474 stores nationwide in 43 states and in Washington, D.C.. Trader Joe’s is a subsidiary of German supermarket chain ALDI Nord. www.traderjoes.com www.fkur.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/19] Vol. 14 49
