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Biobased Containers & Packaging in the Cosmetics Industry

Cosmetics consumers are becoming more environmental-friendly by opting for products that are packaged in biobased materials, according to a recent article in HPC Today. Biobased packaging is made from biomass resources such as plants. In a survey focusing on packing options, majority of respondents said they prefer items from brands with eco-friendly packaging. The global market value of bioplastics packaging, which includes cosmetics packaging, is expected to reach USD 24.84 billion by 2026.

cosmetic bottles

Consumers are also alert to the potential deceitful advertising intended to mislead environmental-conscious consumers, and therefore seek to verify biobased content. To demonstrate the use of biobased material for packaging, cosmetic manufacturers often apply for biobased certifications.

Biobased Certification & Ecolabels

In the article “Biobased packaging for cosmetics”, Beta Analytic’s marketing manager Haley Gershon explains that for manufacturers to receive biobased certification, they must first submit samples of their packaging material for carbon-14 analysis to confirm the material’s biobased content.

Ms. Gershon assures that carbon-14 analytical labs are third-party verification tools that consumers can trust, providing results according to internationally recognized standards like ASTM D6866, CEN/TS 16137 or ISO 16620. Using an accelerator mass spectrometer, the amount of carbon-14 is detected in a sample. Thus, a sample that lacks any carbon-14 would mean that it has 0% biobased content.

Examples of biobased certification programs include the USDA BioPreferred Program®, Germany’s DIN CERTCO DIN-Geprüft Biobased Scheme, and TUV Austria’s OK Biobased program, where eligible products can visibly display a certification logo that states the biobased content percentage of the product or its packaging material.

The full article can be found in vol.15(2) March/April 2020 edition of HPC Today, the international peer-reviewed journal of Household, Personal Care, Cleaning, Cosmetics and Dermatology.

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Excerpt from Beta Analytic’s presentation during the webinar “Stewarding Responsible Growth by Protecting the Integrity of the Curcumin Category”


This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2020 and is filed under Biobased Products .