Eastman Changes the Game For Beauty’s Sustainable Packaging Dilemma

Eastman, a 100-year old U.S.-based supplier, headquartered in Kingsport, TN, has taken the cosmetic packaging industry by storm, changing the game for copolyester sustainability, using their molecular recycling technologies. These innovative technologies enable Eastman to source waste plastic instead of fossil resources to create high-performance new materials—diverting waste from landfills, incineration or the environment.

The portfolio of Eastman Renew materials for cosmetic packaging enables brands to give their consumers more of what they want: captivating products in crystal clear, creatively designed packaging, as well as a meaningful sustainability story. The company says they understand that brands may need different routes on their journey to sustainability. With this in mind, they offer two distinct paths: Cristal Renew and Cristal One Renew.

Cristal Renew

Eastman’s Cristal Renew portfolio is a full range of the high-performance copolyesters beauty brands have relied on for decades—now with high levels of certified recycled content—achieved by allocating the recycled waste plastic to Eastman Cristal Renew using a mass balance process certified by ISCC. With many material options, these resins are formulated to give designers ultimate creative freedom, with the same high quality and processing ease of Eastman’s heritage copolyesters. They provide the clarity, luster, color compatibility, and durability that cosmetic packaging demands.

Cristal One Renew

Eastman’s Cristal One Renew portfolio of recyclable resins delivers both an RIC1 recycle code and certified recycle content. Both the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) in the U.S. and the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) have evaluated these materials and deem them compatible with PET recycling streams.

Both Cristal Renew and Cristal One Renew can be made with 100% certified recycled content—with standard loadings of 30% and 50% offered. All Eastman Renew products carry ISCC PLUS certification, ensuring transparency throughout the value chain and enabling brands to make claims with confidence.   

One of Eastman’s bedrock principles for these materials is that the carbon footprint will be equal or better with Eastman certified recycled content. The process used to make Cristal Renew and Cristal One Renew results in 20-30% lower GHG emissions than traditional manufacturing processes.

Eastman’s Impact on Sustainable Packaging for Beauty

These products are enabled by Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies, which break down hard-to-recycle plastic waste into its molecular building blocks and use them to create new high-performance materials that are indistinguishable from their heritage copolyesters. According to Eastman, this gives the beauty industry the “sustainability without compromise”  that consumers demand.

“Sustainable solutions in the beauty industry require a ‘more is more’ approach. This is what Eastman Cristal Renew and Cristal One Renew resins offer—many material options, and multiple paths to sustainability, including recycled content and recyclability—and all of the clarity, luster, durability, and design freedom brands need to continually delight customers,” says Tara Cary, Eastman segment manager. “We are so excited to showcase the work of these talented molders and for customers to experience ‘sustainability without compromise’ for themselves.”

Showcasing Via the Beauty Box  

Cary says Eastman became familiar with Beauty Packaging’s Beauty Box last year [the first edition, in 2021] and immediately loved the concept. “The beauty industry is all about creating an experience for consumers, and putting these products directly in customers’ hands lets them see and feel what we mean by ‘sustainability without compromise,’ ” says Cary. “We have been so impressed with the innovative packaging coming from our molder partners, and saw the Beauty Box as an ideal way to showcase the exquisite designs they are able to create with Cristal Renew and Cristal One Renew. Beauty Packaging has been a valued partner to Eastman, and this is another ingenious way they are bringing value to the industry.”

Types of Cosmetic Packaging Using Eastman Materials

The Cristal Renew and Cristal One Renew portfolios offer a broad range of resins to meet the needs of many types of cosmetic applications, including skincare jars—both thin and thick-walled—bottles for a range of cosmetic and personal care products, perfume caps, color cosmetics such as compacts and lip gloss vials, as well as packaging for lipsticks and mascara.

Where Does the Recycling Take Place?

Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies are operating at scale at their Kingsport, TN operations now, and a new facility that will recycle over 100,000 metric tons of plastic waste is under construction there and is scheduled to begin operations in 2023. Additionally, Eastman has announced plans to build a molecular recycling and polymer production facility in Normandy, France with a recycling capacity of 150,000 metric tons that is expected to be operational in 2025.

Looking to a Circular Future in Cosmetics Packaging

“Innovation is at the heart of what we do,” says Cary. “We have a long history of serving the cosmetic packaging industry and are continually seeking material solutions to meet the industry’s—and society’s—greatest challenges.” She says they are also continuing to invest in consumer research to better understand the needs and desires of today’s beauty consumers and how best they, and by extension their customers, can give them what they want.

“Sustainability is no longer just a trend in the beauty industry, but a guiding force,” says Cary. “We are dedicated to working toward solutions to help solve the plastic waste crisis and to create a more circular future for cosmetic packaging. At Eastman, we know that it will take all of us to solve these complex challenges and see industry collaboration as a key path forward.”

5 Molders Working with Eastman

The new Beauty Box, from Beauty Packaging, features products from 5 molders delivering dynamite packaging—for categories from skincare to lip care—made with Eastman’s groundbreaking materials. The 5 molders are: Inoac, WWP Beauty, Pinard, ShyaHsin and Albea.

Here’s some background on these molders and a look at the assortment of problem-solving eco-packaging contained within the sample box.

Inoac

Al Lustrino, president of Inoac Packaging Group, saw this year’s B2B Box as a good opportunity to reach customers with the company’s sustainable packaging solutions.

Inoac participated in the 2021 B2B Beauty Box, and Lustrino says, “It was a great success, so we decided to participate once again. Getting samples into the hands of existing and potential clients is the best way for them to experience the products we provide.”

How did Inoac decide which products to include in this year’s box? Lustrino says, “In reviewing the products we’ve molded using the Eastman Renew technology, we aimed to include a product that most clearly demonstrates both the transparency of the Eastman Renew resins and the capabilities of Inoac.”

The jar they included is molded using Eastman’s 100% Renew PET, which is manufactured through their chemical recycling process and uses 100% PCR feed stocks. In addition, this jar has very thick sections and demonstrates the glass-like appearance that Inoac is able to achieve using their proprietary heavy-wall PET molding technology.

Inoac also included a thin-wall bottle in this year’s Beauty Box. These bottles feature flexible walls that allow for squeeze dispensing, lighter component weight, a faster cycle time, and more. In addition, this bottle is also available in the new Eastman Renew PET resins thereby addressing brands’ sustainability objectives.

Inoac has been manufacturing sustainable packaging for many years—but Lustrino says Eastman’s materials are the answer to being sustainable while maintaining a brand’s packaging aesthetic. “In the past” says Lustrino, “the brands that we supplied were able to make the aesthetic variability associated with mechanically recycled PCR part of their positioning. Today, brands want the sustainability positioning without the aesthetic compromise.  In response, we have worked with Eastman to incorporate their Renew resins, which offer a sustainable product without compromise.”

Inoac will utilize Eastman’s materials going forward. Lustrino explains, “As Inoac continues to transform our company to meet the changing needs of our clients, we are continuing to partner with Eastman on other materials they are developing. These materials have application in our current Injection Stretch Blow Molding and additional molding options that we will be bringing to market in early 2023.”

WWP BEAUTY

WWP Beauty is one of the 5 molders presenting products using Eastman materials in this year’s Beauty Box. They have included two products in order to showcase the Eastman materials they are using. Musa Dias, WWP Beauty CMO, says, “The B2B Box is a great opportunity for existing and new customers to learn about our latest innovations in sustainability and experience how the components look and feel.”

In general, Dias says WWP is “committed to creating Beauty with Purpose by providing customers with packaging solutions at the forefront of eco-smart designs, innovative sustainable materials, and technologies, besides transparent sourcing and supply chain management.” WWP also uses their proprietary Eco-Analyzer tool, to offer customers validated data for each package, such as material reduction rates and GHG emissions.

“Creating ‘Beauty with Purpose’ takes more than one company,” says Dias, “so WWP Beauty partners with like-minded sustainable organizations to offer clients sustainability they can trust to make a positive and purposeful impact on the planet.”

Dias says Eastman’s molecular recycled technology can recycle materials that have little value or cannot be mechanically recycled and also allows for broader and hard-to-recycle waste curbside material collections without impacting the components’ color, and quality as the beauty industry requires. It provides both thin- and heavy-wall packaging with premium clarity, luster and radiance, “the perfect substitute for virgin plastic materials, such as PET, PETG, ABS, SAN and PS.” Furthermore, molecular recycled technology enables the infinite ability to recycle polymer, helping to create a truly circular economy.

WWP Beauty’s Eastman Cristal Renew Jar is a glass-like jar designed with 50% molecular recycled content. It features a heavy wall, outstanding luster and radiance, says Dias.

WWP Beauty’s Eastman Cristal One Renew Lip-Gloss is “a lip-gloss with a luxurious look and feel, featuring recyclable RIC 1 resin with 50% molecular recycled content.”

Dias says they will continue to use these Eastman products—and will be able to provide customers with a “packaging trail.” “In addition, WWP Beauty obtained their International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC), so that brands can feel confident that they are using certified recycled content for their products that can be traced through the entire development cycle from creation to manufacturing,” explains Dias.

Pinard

Milena Lejosne, Pinard’s marketing & communication director, says Pinard’s inclusion in the Beauty Box is a thick-wall bottle from their standard Elancia Glass Polymer range. With a capacity of 30ml, it is made of extruded PET and therefore manufactured with extrusion blow molding technology. She explains, “Extruded PET will retain the properties of Classic PET, with transparency and similar quality. This solution will also be easier to recycle, in the PET sorting sector, compared to a classic PETG.” A screen print was made especially for the Beauty Box. It incorporates the Pinard Beauty Pack logo, the material, the Eastman Cristal One material logo, the novelty of this bottle, the sorting process and the phrase “Available with 50% certified recycled waste plastic.”

ShyaHsin

ShyaHsin provides multiple solutions to meet customers’ expectations on sustainable packaging, not only sustainable material adoption but also advanced designs including refillable, light weight etc.

ShyaHsin chose Eastman materials for their “broad sustainable material portfolio for cosmetic packaging. According to Nicky Wang, global marketing director, ShyaHsin, “These materials can be applied on skincare and color cosmetic articles with very good performance and aesthetic, as well as meet customers’ sustainability requirement on recyclable or reuse purposes.”

Wang said that by partnering with Beauty Packaging and Eastman, “We can showcase our sustainable packaging solutions along with the B2B Box to many cosmetic customers.”

As far as what they chose to include in the Beauty Box, Wang says they decided to include their skincare jar and lip gloss vial in the B2B Box “in terms of advanced design and sustainable packaging solutions.” The jar is made of Eastman Cristal One Pro Renew 50, which is recyclable PET material with certified recycled content, which can be applied on “high thickness articles.” The lip gloss vial features Eastman Cristal AN Renew, which is PCTA grade with certified recycled content, “having very good chemical resistance and beauty appearance, as well as a sustainable concept.”

Wang says, ShyaHsin has been partnering with Eastman on more sustainable packaging projects—development, promotion and innovation together—for the skincare category, and also for color cosmetics.

Albéa

According to Albéa, “Giving recycled materials a second life and reducing our carbon footprint thanks to mechanical and chemical PCR is key. This B2B box from Eastman showcases a shared commitment to sustainability and the ability to drive circularity in the beauty industry while offering both desirable and responsible solutions.”

In addition, Albéa says their priority is “to offer a safe and circular packaging with minimal environmental impact. As they have committed to making all their packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, they are therefore transforming it, exploring new materials including PCR and bioplastics, adapting injection and decoration processes while reducing overall material use.”

Albéa, often called the world’s No.1 cosmetic packaging supplier, manufactures a wide range of packaging, including tubes, lipsticks, mascara, as well as perfume and applicators. They employ 12,500 people, operating in 35 facilities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Albéa’s global sales totaled $1.2 billion in 2021.

For this year’s B2B Beauty Box, they chose to include a compact case. The CM-298 is a medium-sized compact that is part of Albéa’s new compact family which contains a smaller and a larger version. The compact is made of PCR plastics (post-consumer recycled) from Eastman. The cover transparency allows the consumer to see what’s inside. The compact also has a slim and flat design which allows for easy handling, and “the opening is facilitated with an elegant straight tab.” The CM-298 is ideal for eyeshadows and highlighters. 

A Special Thanks to COII Packaging for Providing the 2022 B2B Beauty Box

COII Packaging is a folding carton company that designs and manufactures custom solutions to value-added brands. COII designed and manufactured this year’s B2B Beauty Box, which is environmentally friendly using fluted materials and SBS.

The company was started by Joe Cicci, former president and CEO of Color Optics Inc. A well-seasoned and talented staff with years of experience provides printing and packaging innovations from a full spectrum of decorating techniques. As a domestic manufacturer, COII offers in-house CAD design through advanced printing and  finishing capabilities.

Cicci says, “COII’s mission is to provide quality innovative products with unrivaled customer service. Our highly experienced production team and cutting-edge machinery and equipment ensure all products maintain a consistent high quality.” Some sustainable proprietary innovations include AutoMask, NatraLook, Lustre-Look, and Biolithe. Cicci adds: “COII is a proud American manufacturing company focused on bringing your products to life.”

Albéa

Albéa, the world’s #1 cosmetic packaging supplier, manufactures the packaging you use every day: tubes, lipsticks, mascara, as well as perfume and applicators, via 35 global facilitiesCM-298 Compact
The CM-298 is a medium-sized compact that is part of our new compact family which contains a smaller and a larger version. It is made of PCR plastics from Eastman. The cover transparency allows the consumer to see what’s inside. The compact has a slim and flat design, which allows for easy handling, and the opening is facilitated with an elegant straight tab. The CM-298 can be perfectly used for eyeshadows and highlighters.

Eastman

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day.

With its Renew and Cristal Renew materials portfolio for cosmetic packaging, Eastman is changing the game for copolyester sustainability, using its molecular recycling technologies. With these technologies, Eastman sources waste plastic instead of fossil resources to create high-performance new materials – diverting waste from landfills, incineration, or the environment. These resins are formulated to give designers ultimate creative freedom, with the same high quality and processing ease of Eastman’s heritage copolyesters. They provide the clarity, luster, color compatibility, and durability that cosmetics packaging demands—and improve carbon footprint.

Inoac

Inoac Packaging Group has been a global leader in Heavy and Ultra-Heavy wall PET packaging for over 30 years. Now Inoac is able to offer all of our heavy and ultra-heavy wall packages in the Eastman Chemical Renew PET resins. This will allow brands to maintain their luxury brand esthetics while meeting their sustainability goals. 

Brands seeking a lighter bottle option can now utilize our new standard thin wall PET bottles! Featuring flexible walls that allow for squeeze dispensing, lighter component weight, and a faster cycle time for lower cost to you, this option offers the same premium quality that comes standard in all Inoac components. This bottle is also available in the new Eastman Renew PET resins thereby addressing brands’ sustainability objectives.

Pinard Beauty Pack

Fifty-year-old French company Pinard Beauty Pack specializes in the manufacture of plastic bottles for the cosmetics and parapharmacy sectors, and offers technologies, such as injection blow molding and extrusion blow molding.

The bottle enclosed in the Eastman Beauty Box is from our standard 30ml Elancia Glass Polymer range, made of extruded PET and manufactured with Extrusion Blow Molding technology. Extruded PET will retain the properties of Classic PET, transparency and similar quality. This solution will also be easier to recycle, in the PET sorting sector, compared to a classic PETG. A screen print was made especially for this Beauty Box, including logos, the sorting process and the words “Available with 50% certified recycled waste plastic.”

ShyaHsin Packaging

Globally recognized 70-year old ShyaHsin Packaging (China) Co., Ltd. is a multi-ISO certified and EcoVadis Silver certified global supplier to the cosmetic, skincare industries.

SH202328 SHP Lipgloss Feature:
ShyaHsin’s thick-wall lipgloss bottles feature highly transparency, an aluminum cap with various decoration (the bottle material is made of Eastman AN004 Renew 30 material, which is PCR PET material from recycled plastic.) This jumbo lip gloss pack is also suitable for other color cosmetics.

SH102246 SHP Jar Feature:
The thick wall jar, ideal for skincare, features high transparency, and Eastman Cristal One Pro Renew 50 material for both cap and base. The material comes from PCR recycled plastics.

WWP Beauty

WWP Beauty, with full-service offerings and in-house manufacturing capabilities, is committed to developing future-focused, sustainable solutions.

WWP Beauty’s Eastman Cristal One Renew lip-gloss component features an advanced molecular recycled and recyclable RIC 1 resin that has infinite ability to recycle while maintaining its physical and chemical attributes. It has 50% recycled content, and other attributes that contribute to a circular economy.

WWP Beauty’s luxe heavy wall jar with glass-like feel and finish was designed with Eastman Cristal Renew (RPETG 50%), which enables landfill diversion.
Molecular recycled resin is chemically identical to virgin resin. Therefore, WWP Beauty obtained ISCC, which certifies that the recycled molecular content of this jar can be traced through the entire development cycle.