Shiseido cuts plastic use in half with LiquiForm pump packaging

Shiseido has expanded the use of its LiquiForm manufacturing technology to include pump dispenser containers. The cosmetics packaging solution combines bottle molding and filling into one step, reducing plastic by 56% and CO2 emissions by around 48%, compared to conventional pump applications. 

A third party verified these figures using the SuMPO EPD system, which complies with ISO 14025 standards. 

The new packaging is designed to maintain the size and appearance of Shiseido’s existing beauty containers while using fewer materials. To achieve this, Shiseido replaced the traditional two-body refill system with a soft plastic refill container that connects directly to a hard-material pump top. 

The LiquiForm pump packaging required adjustments to ensure durability, light protection, effective dispensing, and usability. The final design aims to balance environmental impact with functional and aesthetic requirements. 

Consumer data reveals that people saw Shisido's packaging as environmentally friendly.Shiseido plans to extend LiquiForm’s application to other product lines, including its Prestige brands. 

“Moving forward, Shiseido will continue to develop cosmetics packaging that balances respect for and coexistence between people, society, the global environment, and the satisfaction obtained from high-quality design and feel of its products,” says the beauty company. 

Consumer opinions

Shiseido also considered how the packaging fits in the hand, testing different shapes based on ergonomic data and user feedback. The result is a container that supports ease of use without increasing material volume.

To understand consumer response, Shiseido conducted a four-week survey involving 130 women aged 20–34 in Japan and China.

 Key findings included:

• 88% said the packaging seemed environmentally friendly
• 89% said it aligns with the upcoming age
• 91% said it felt nice and comfortable to touch
• 84% said it felt healing 

Shiseido first introduced LiquiForm in 2022 with refill containers. 

Plastic-reduced beauty packaging

In other plastic-cutting cosmetic packaging developments, Eastman and SUQQU partnered to use Eastman’s Cristal One copolyester as the primary material in the Japanese beauty brand’s latest setting powder compact.

SUQQU’s compact is made from Eastman’s recyclable resin, an alternative to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, a conventional resin used in compact base plates. Eastman says the copolyester offers superior performance to other materials, such as PET.

Meanwhile, Single Use Plastic Alternative Innovations, a UK-based cleaning supplier, announced a pine tree sap-based paper bottle coating to provide a waterproof lining for its latest hand wash range. The bottle also featured a reusable matte black metal soap hand pump.