Beauty & Healthcare Zero
Beauty & Healthcare Zero Compromise? Beautiful. In the beauty industry, consumers treat packaging as an extension of the product itself. Bottles, jars, tubes, and compacts must look and feel as luxurious as the products they hold. A growing number of consumers search for beauty that runs more than skin deep – in the form of products that are made and packaged with sustainability in mind. The consumer perspective As of 2019, more than half (54 %) of sustainably-minded U.S. consumers said they were much more likely to purchase colour cosmetics from brands offering recyclable or recycled content packaging [1]. This desire for sustainably packaged cosmetics has not abated with the global pandemic. Findings from a 2021 Eastman (Kingsport, TN, USA) global consumer survey suggest that it has grown even stronger, with 67 % of global skincare consumers indicating they would purchase products more often from brands that use recyclable or recycled content packaging [2]. There’s a catch, though. Eastman’s research also indicates that compromising on design, clarity and quality of packaging can reduce consumers’ likelihood to purchase skincare products with recyclable packaging by half [2]. So consumers want recycled content and recyclability, but that desire does not detract from their high expectations for aesthetics. No more compromise Exceptional clarity, brilliant colour and lustre, and worry-free durability are marks of luxury in beauty packaging. Molecularly recycled materials can meet these high standards while providing the luxury experience consumers expect. Traditionally recycled plastics often suffer from challenges in aesthetics such as poor colour or transparency. They look cloudy or limit brands to thin, flimsy, or simply shaped packaging. “At Eastman, we believe sustainability shouldn’t require a compromise. This is a primary reason we have embraced material-to-material molecular recycling technologies”, said Tara Cary, segment market manager for cosmetic packaging at Eastman. These technologies create value from waste by using hard-to-recycle waste plastic, instead of fossil fuels, as feedstock. Molecular recycling breaks down this waste plastic into its molecular building blocks, and these basic components are then used to produce new materials which are identical in structure to those traditionally manufactured from fossil fuels. The resulting products look and feel just like the traditional materials that beauty brands use, with no decrease in aesthetics or performance. Best of all, they generate significant sustainability benefits – not only diverting plastic waste from landfills and reducing reliance on fossil fuels but also, in the case of Eastman’s technologies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing new plastic material when compared with traditional manufacturing processes. Switching to new materials often results in disruptive and expensive manufacturing changes, such as retooling and requalification. However, products made with molecular recycling – since they are structurally identical to their virgin counterparts – offer drop-in solutions which are compatible with existing moulds. They can therefore be adopted quickly and inexpensively, allowing brands to make rapid progress towards their sustainability goals. Brand impact Beauty industry leaders are already introducing molecular recycled content into their packaging. Amorepacific (Seoul, South Korea), Clio Cosmetics Seoul (South Korea), and LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics (Paris, France) are just a few examples of the companies now using materials like Cristal Renew to advance their packaging sustainability without compromising performance. As more players in the beauty industry embrace materials made with molecular recycled content, we can all create a greater positive impact on our planet. AT [1] Eastman U.S. Sustainable Leader Consumer Community, 2019, Color Cosmetic Survey [2] Eastman 2021 Global Skincare Study www.eastman.com 18 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/22] Vol. 17
PHA for cosmetics Award-winning new upcycling solution for the cosmetics industry S ustainability is one of the hottest topics in beauty today. But how can the sector move beyond packaging to innovate with new concepts, product formulations, and materials to win over the eco consumer? New megatrends in cosmetics Innovation is the only right and possible tool. And innovations have to meet the new global megatrends: • Waterless Cosmetics – water is a fundamental ingredient in cosmetics, with some formulations consisting of up to 90 % of water. • Upcycled ingredients – going full circle. • Less is more – eco-friendly minimalist. Hydal PHA concept and benefits Hydal PHA concept brings solutions for those megatrends. Hydal PHA is an upcycling ingredient and biopolymer produced biotechnologically from two biosources – used natural oils or waste from beer production. The specific form of the biopolymer is P3HB. This biopolymer is biocompatible, non-toxic, and fully biodegradable (it is the reference material for biodegradability in the new microplastics regulation). And our biopolymer was also awarded as Gold Green Ingredient 2022 during In-cosmetics global event in Paris. Hydal PHA is a new type of cosmetics ingredient and is unique because: 1. The manufacturing process – is a biotechnological process based on Green Chemistry and Zero Waste Manufacturing. 2. Feedstock – the feedstock for biotechnology is the afteruse product. This makes it possible to replace primary sources with secondary raw materials. 3. Raw material – the biotechnology output is a biopolymer with unique generic properties (biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxic) and unique properties as a cosmetic ingredient with broad application potential. 4. Environmental impact – 1 kg of biopolymer saves 6 kg CO 2 eq. And all measured impact categories have a positive environmental impact due to avoided sources. 5. Biodegradability – P3HB is a reference material for biodegradability and is thus unique in its properties. 6. Biocompatibility – the monomer is a part of human metabolism, and the polymer has excellent potential in biomedical and cosmetic applications. As for the three megatrends, Hydal PHA fulfils two of them: • It is the ingredient for the waterless formulation. • It is upcycled ingredient with positive environmental impacts in LCA. By: By Lenka Mynářová, Aneta Pospíšilová NAFIGATE Corporation, a.s. Prague, Czech Republic Unique Hydal PHA properties for cosmetics application Four properties are crucial for cosmetics applications of Hydal PHA: 1. Particle size. 2. Particle shape. 3. Modification (chemical, biological, physical). 4. Molecular weight. It is necessary to develop a mix of properties for each application. The raw material is suitable only for a limited number of applications. Hydal PHA is a new cosmetic ingredient that: 1. replaces microplastics and complies with all requirements for their regulation; 2. replaces existing ingredients that do not meet sustainability requirements or have potential safety risks (e.g. TiO 2 ); 3. creates the basis for new compositions such as a polymeric matrix; 4. it is an active ingredient in selected products – e.g. sorbent in deodorants; 5. it is an ingredient for coating/encapsulation; 6. it is a booster of UV protection; 7. it has great application potential in the field of wound healing/dressing. Conclusion Upcycled ingredients are a new trend. They are starting a new era in the cosmetics industry. The rapid onset of this trend will be further accelerated by eco-scoring. That is one of the reasons why NAFIGATE created the new EcoScore Beauty Consortium. Its main goal is to prepare for this time. www.nafigate.com Beauty & Healthcare bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/22] Vol. 17 19
