Arcade Beauty and Pierre Fabre develop recyclable toothpaste pouch for carbon cuts

15 Jun 2022 --- Arcade Beauty Retail has developed a fully recyclable 3D monomaterial pouch branded Eco-pack for the oral care market. Pierre Fabre Laboratories had previously requested an organic and environmentally friendly toothpaste delivery system to replace the traditional tube. 

The packaging is designed to reduce the use of aluminum and secondary packaging, resulting in a more lightweight solution and carbon savings. The storage pouches function with a screw top similar to traditional tubes and hold 100 ml of content.

Most toothpaste tubes are made from a combination of plastic and aluminum, which allows for flexibility and functionality, but makes the packaging hard to recycle. Recent data by Innova Market Insights shows that more than 20% of global consumers do not attempt to recycle packaging with more than one material for reasons of inconvenience.

Oral care innovation
The Elgydium Whitening organic toothpaste manufactured by Pierre Fabre will be sold in the Eco-pack, as brands begin debuting alternatives to toothpaste tubes amid growing consumer demand for environmentally sustainable solutions.

The 3D Eco-pack functions with a screw top and holds 100 ml of content.Pierre Fabre, a French multinational pharmaceutical and cosmetics company, aims to reduce 69% of its current carbon usage annually. In addition, the company wants to reduce its plastic usage by 48% and its water usage by 85%. It claims that the development of this recyclable pouch is “an innovation the oral care market needs.” 

“Lighter than a conventional tube, this recyclable bag combined with the removal of the case, contributes to the 2° degree trajectory of the Pierre Fabre group with an annual saving of 69% CO2, 48% plastic, 85% water. This bag also allows the elimination of the use of aluminum and cases” Isabelle Louis, marketing director at Arcade Beauty, tells PackagingInsights in an exclusive interview.

The Ecopack allows Arcade Beauty Retail to customize any product the company offers in this storage. Products can conserve their identities, their unique shapes, designs and fills. 

Toothpaste pack progress
Meanwhile, Colgate-Palmolive has released recyclable toothpaste tubes in the US featuring bold designs to raise recyclability awareness. The tube was previously approved by RecyClass as recyclable through HDPE streams. 

“The Recycle Me! tube is designed to educate and engage consumers and the recycling community, who are both essential to progress,” says Dana Medema, vice president and general manager of oral care at Colgate-Palmolive, US.

The “Recycle Me!” product raises customer recycling awareness with bold messaging and enhances recycling at Materials Recovery Facilities.

The awareness-raising design comes as Innova Market Insights pegs “Shared Planet” as the number one FMCG trend for 2022, pinpointing how consumers now rank planetary health as their number one concern, overtaking personal health.

By Mieke Meintjes