Plastic tubes have been a staple of cosmetic packaging for years. They protect products while looking appealing on store shelves. However, consumers are becoming more aware of the harm single-use plastic causes the planet, and they’re increasingly asking for their goods to come in environmentally friendly packaging. They’re basing purchasing decisions on the environmental impact of companies, not just on their products.

Keeping up with buyer trends is always a smart business decision, but using eco-friendly cosmetic tubes goes beyond that. Your company can make a real difference to the world around you. Here, you’ll find some of the benefits of using eco-friendly plastic for your company, your customers, and the planet.

Cost Savings

People often associate environmentally friendly packaging with higher costs. That’s not the case anymore, though. Researchers are constantly working on new, affordable ways to produce more eco-friendly plastic. In fact, this type of packaging is often more cost-efficient. Since it takes fewer resources to create, there aren’t as many costs for manufacturers to pass along to you.

Even if your manufacturing costs increase, studies show customers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly cosmetic tubes, bottles and boxes. Buyers are becoming more aware of their eco-footprint and are looking for ways to reduce it. They understand that this may lead to price increases. To most people, it’s worth it.

Brand Image

Many companies use their environmental impact as part of their branding. Whether it’s the entire basis of your brand or an informational message about your environmentally friendly packaging, it will draw customers. Buyers are demanding accountability from their favorite brands. You can make that transparency one of your hallmarks.

A trustworthy brand will find more loyalty among consumers. Broadcasting your eco-conscious efforts will draw new customers, but it will also keep them coming back. People often feel betrayed by brands that mislead them or use unethical practices. They sometimes feel that a brand they can trust is worth more than the products themselves.

Your Eco-Footprint

The biggest reason to use eco-friendly cosmetic tubes is to reduce your own environmental impact. Every step you can take to help the planet will make a difference. Your eco-footprint, or carbon footprint, is a way to estimate your influence on the environment. There’s an online calculator for individuals, but it’s more complex for companies. There are several factors to consider.

Manufacturing

Everything involved with your product and its packaging has to be manufactured. Consumers were kept in the dark about this environmental impact until relatively recently. Now, though, there’s more information than ever available to the public.

Manufacturing byproducts can be detrimental to the environment. This might include greenhouse gas emissions, local pollution or dangerous chemical waste. Manufacturing also requires valuable resources — water, electricity, labor, non-renewable and slow-renewable materials, land and more.

Before we realized our impact on the planet, companies chose manufacturers based on cost. That can still be a consideration, but your eco-footprint should be too. Customers now know to pay attention to these factors.

Transportation

Shipping makes up a large part of a product’s life. From the raw materials getting to the manufacturer to the product getting into the customer’s hands, transportation is a large part of a company’s carbon footprint.

Waste Generation

When considering waste, the manufacturing process is what comes to mind first. However, it goes beyond that. This is where your choice of packaging can make a difference. If customers purchase your cosmetics, unpackage them, and throw away the packaging, that should be considered in the company’s waste generation. Here are some things to consider to generate less waste.

• Necessity. Does your product need the packaging? Is it actually keeping the product safe? If it’s for convenience, does that outweigh the potential waste?
• Material. What options do you have for materials? Which will create the least amount of waste while still serving its purpose? Many companies are now avoiding plastic, but if that’s what the product needs, there are eco-friendly options.
• Reusability. If your packaging is useful and durable, your customers can reuse it. For example, well-made eco-friendly cosmetic tubes make good lifelong storage for the product.
• Recyclability. Reusability is a higher priority since not all plastic is recycled correctly. However, the packaging is more likely to stay out of a landfill if it’s recyclable.

What Is Eco-Friendly Plastic?

The most common type of plastic for manufacturing is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Patented in 1973, it’s been the main choice for food packaging ever since. Beverage companies produce an estimated 600 billion PET bottles a year. Only about 30% of them are recycled. Not all forms of PET are recyclable, but many consumers don’t know this. Recycling centers have limited time and resources; if they get a batch of plastic contaminated with non-recyclable materials, they may have to throw it all out.

These eco-friendly cosmetic tubes use a more eco-friendly option. Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) has similarities to PET, but the addition of glycol makes the difference. It shares some benefits with PET:

• Crystal-clear transparency
• Can be made FDA-compliant and food-safe
• Durable
• Easily printed on
• Affordable

However, it has some bonuses:

• More impact resistant than PET
• More chemical resistant than PET
• Easier to thermoform and mold
• Fully recyclable
• Does not contain bisphenol A (BPA)
• No antimony used in manufacturing
• No waste material or byproducts from manufacturing
• No toxic fumes
• Low smoke density

Besides making for more environmentally friendly packaging, PETG doesn’t have two substances found in PET: BPA and antimony. BPA studies are ongoing, but drinking from bottles made with it may cause health issues. Antimony is used in the production of PET and is dangerous to consume.

Find Out More About Eco-Friendly Cosmetic Tubes

Find out more about environmentally friendly packaging for your cosmetics here. You can get a quote, request samples, or speak to someone about your unique needs.