With sustainability becoming the primary demand for innovation, many challenges arise when it comes to hygiene and day-to-day products. Below we look at some key examples of sustainable packaging entering the world of personal care.

Food and drink brands have shown great progress in the use of sustainable alternatives from biodegradable to recyclable and even edible materials, as seen with Notpla’s seaweed packaging. Now the personal care sector is also making moves towards more eco-friendly packaging. With many factors to consider such as hygiene requirements and product contamination, durability for daily use, as well as overall aesthetic and appeal within a very busy market.

We take a look at examples of personal care brands that are moving towards eco-friendly packaging, helping to pave the way for more sustainable packaging across the sector.

Paperboard Packaging

L’Oreal - Seed Phytonutrients

Cosmetics giants L’Oreal launched a new professional beauty brand that makes local environmental responsibility its mission and seeds its key ingredient. Seed Phytonutrients is intended to be “the most organic brand ever created” sourcing its ingredients from small family-run organic farms that plant and harvest exclusively for the brand.

The initiative uses shower-friendly paper packaging that is both recyclable and compostable. The paperboard material is a biodegradable material derived from recycled paper pulp. When made and disposed of properly, it can present a renewable material source.

For more information about L’Oreal’s Seed Phytonutrients packaging visit their website or follow the brand on Instagram.

Kolmar Korea - Paper Tube Packaging

Reinforced with a waterproof layer of coated paper, Paper Tubes are able to contain moisture without getting soggy and can hold up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds) ensuring durability during transportation or storage, thus providing the same benefits as plastic whilst also being a more affordable alternative to glass.

You can read more about the Kolmar Korea Paper Tube Packaging in our previous article here.

Recyclable packaging

Colgate -Toothpaste Tubes

Recyclable plastic is becoming more and more readily available as a viable option to reduce the use of single-use plastics, something Greg Corra, worldwide director of global packaging & sustainability for Colgate has applied to their latest packaging innovation. With a target to reduce their packaging waste by 2025, Colgate partnered with the Association of Plastic Recyclers to develop a breakthrough packaging that offered 100% recyclability while still maintaining the structure and malleability required for toothpaste tubes.

The innovative packaging is made with high-density polyethylene, or #2 HDPE. HDPE is typically rigid, but Colgate developed a way to layer the material at different grades to create the flexibility needed for a squeeze tube, while still offering packaging that's widely accepted by local recycling programs. Furthermore, the lid, made from the same material as a milk jug cap, can be recycled with the tube making recycling easier for consumers. Colgate has opened the design to anybody at no cost and totally royalty-free. The decision comes from their aim to reduce all toothpaste tube waste even further by helping other brands move towards a more sustainable culture.

Find out more about Colgate’s ground-breaking toothpaste tube design by visiting their website.

Reusable Packaging

A huge sustainability trend taking over the self-care sector is the ‘reuse, refill repeat’ concept. Refillable packaging systems encourage a circular economy wherein consumers buy refillable packs or return the packaging to the supplier for cleaning and refilling.

Fussy Deodorant

Fussy is a personal care brand on a mission to create high-quality, natural personal care products that are totally sustainable without compromise, an attitude that extends across all their systems, from a carbon-positive supply chain to ensure their suppliers sign up to their ethical working practices. Design studio Blond was tasked with developing a refillable casing that could house compostable refills and fit through U.K. letterboxes to accommodate Fussy’s subscription service.

The London-based studio began their process by questioning customary design patterns within the category, many of which do not consider the container’s end-of-life, and took inspiration from natural forms. The result: a hard-wearing case made from recyclable plastic with a naturally ergonomic form that takes direct inspiration from the humble pebble. Increased wall thicknesses and thickened mechanisms ensure the case lasts as long as possible. The refills are made from waste sugarcane and are intuitively top-loading making it easy to assemble.

Fussy’s flat shape means it can easily be stored or transported anywhere, from the home, in a pocket, or to the gym, fitting seamlessly into the user’s lifestyle, making it more desirable and more likely to be kept and refilled. The accompanying Deo Dish is made from the same materials and provides a place to store the deodorant casing as well as the refills, keeping them safe, dry and easily accessible.

For more information about the Blond design visit their website or follow them on Instagram.

Wild Refill Deodorant

Similarly, one of last year’s Gold Pentawards winners in the Sustainable Design category, is Wild’s refillable deodorant sticks. Made from aluminium and post-consumer recycled plastic, this Wild case is completely custom designed to be used again and again, significantly reducing the impact consumers are having on the planet. Available to purchase online, the product is slim enough to fit through the letterbox.

For more information about the design by Morrama and Wild, visit their website or follow them on Instagram.

Biodegradable packaging

SoapBottle by Jonna Breitenhuber

Developed by product and process designer Jonna Breitenhuber, SoapBottle is an innovative, biodegradable packaging concept made entirely from the natural materials used in manufacturing soap. The bottle gradually dissolves over time, leaving only remnants that can be recycled into liquid soap or detergents eliminating waste in its product life cycle.

The product’s rectangular design allows easy storage at home and during distribution. Due to the nature of the materials the bottle shape and vibrant colour changes over time, playing with the concept of 'beauty in transience' as the bottle gradually melts and transforms to forge its own aesthetic.

To open users slice off one of the bottle's marked corners to open it. Since the product is made of soap, it will eventually become slippery when exposed to water, therefore, Breitenhuber incorporated a ribbon allowing the bottle to be hung safely in the shower employing a unique threading system to secure the bottle in place. The reusable metal cap stopper is bent from a single sheet of metal and can be swapped over to the next bottle.

For more information about the SoapBottle visit Breitenhuber’s website or follow them on Instagram.

Have an awesome sustainable packaging design that could compete for a Pentaward? Why not submit to one of our Sustainable Categories. Find out more here.