As we all know, plastics, known as "super garbage", have become an important factor in global environmental pollution. Less than 10 percent of the 7 billion tons of plastic waste generated worldwide is recycled, the rest goes to landfills and water systems, and the beauty industry is one of the biggest culprits of harmful chemicals and microplastics seeping into soils and water systems.
According to recycling company TerraCycle, the beauty industry produces about 120 billion packages a year, of which about 70% end up in landfills, major brands are struggling to find solutions, refillable products immediately into the sustainable awareness of the brand vision, for brand owners this model is not only conducive to reducing transportation costs, encouraging customers to repeat purchases, increasing user viscosity, shoppers can also reduce waste without affecting daily beauty habits.
Hermès launched a range of interchangeable lipsticks when it first ventured into the makeup space, the luxury giant's first move in the beauty field conveyed to the public the importance of sustainability to the future of the beauty field, and the refillable beauty products are not the small ripples of "short-lived" in the industry a few years ago, but are penetrating the mainstream world.
Of course, refillable beauty products are nothing new, and brands such as Kjaer Weiss and L'Occitane have been producing such products continuously, but they have not been fully accepted by the public before. Recently, whether it is mass goods or luxury goods, people have begun to show new interest in this concept, Dries Van Noten first launched the makeup collection that caters to the trend of replaceable packaging, providing four lipstick shell designs, consumers can choose 30 colors of the inner core with their favorite shell packaging, Chanel No. 1 red camellia cream also launched a replaceable supplemental design.
Dries Van Noten lipstick replacement process
Another possibility for consumers to "refill" beauty products is the beauty packaging that they are reluctant to throw away, and Diptyque captures this: its glass bottle packaged hand sanitizer is definitely worthy of the atmosphere of the beautiful bathroom design, becoming part of the home decoration, and the replaceable contents also make them a symbol of sustainability.
Diptych
Nielsen's research data during the pandemic showed a 431 percent spike in consumer searches for "reusable perfumes," but the agency also made it clear that it's not so easy to convince consumers to abandon old habits of consumption altogether, or to convince brands to adopt more challenging ways to package their products.
Changing a consumer culture has always cost time and money, and many of the world's beauty brands that call for sustainable development are still lagging behind in the race. This opens up the picture for flexible, direct-to-consumer brands that are talking to eco-conscious Gen Z consumers through more sustainable design.
Myro, which focuses on refillable antiperspirants, is primarily sold through a D-to-C model, encouraging consumers to purchase 3-pack supplement kits on a subscription basis to reduce shipping costs and promising to use 50% less plastic per refillable box than traditional boxes; Alive & Well, a hair care brand specifically for curly women, has introduced reusable bottles that consumers receive supplements every 3 months, which are 90% less than traditional plastic bottle packaging. carbon and energy use, and 93% plastic usage.
Myro's replaceable antiperspirant
Jenni Middleton, beauty director at trends forecaster WGSN, believes that Gen Z holds the key to changing the way we consume beauty products, "Gen Z's focus on the environment has become deeply embedded in their worldview, this generation seeks more sustainable consumption options, and should also be called 'pre-recyclers', which means that they are more willing than the previous generation to bring used product containers into retail stores for refilling, and they will also use actions to force brands to provide more recycling, Reuse and refillable options. ”
Rituals' replaceable design with built-in bottle body avoids hygiene hazards
Renowned packaging designer Marc Atlan, who worked for Commes des Gar ons, Helmut Lang and Prada, recently partnered with body care brand Uni to design a simple,reusable aluminum press bottle, in which the inner bottle can be recycled and refilled, in order to increase the consumer's purchase stickiness, Uni also divides the product into two forms: subscription delivery and separate purchase, when the consumer receives the new inner bottle, the old empty bottle can be put into the box. With the prepaid postage label, the empty bottle can be sent back to the brand, which will be washed and disinfected and refilled with bath and care products to make the packaging perpetual.
Uni's aluminum press bottle replacement
In a 2019 report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, reusable product packaging can replace about 20% of single-use packaging, but only 3% of packaging is currently refillable, and the gap is still very obvious. This is a $10 billion business opportunity and represents a key responsibility for eliminating plastic waste and pollution that is placed on individual consumers.
Manufacturing packaging that is aesthetically pleasing, eye-catching and willing to be reused by consumers is a time-consuming and expensive process, but most high-end and luxury brands are willing to choose this path, on the one hand, the aesthetic outer packaging is the embodiment of luxury taste, and the refilled simple packaging can also eliminate safety problems such as pollution.
Arnaud Meysselle, CEO of Ren Clean Skincare, a pioneering brand in sustainable beauty development, said: "The stability of highly active skincare ingredients can be a difficult point, while in facial skincare products, the need to ensure that multiple ingredients are not contaminated is more challenging, and safety must be paramount. ”
Ren introduced a cleanable glass bottle with text printed directly on the bottle body with a 100% recyclable pump head
For some brands, refillable means that consumers have to take the used bottle to the retail store or supply station for secondary filling, and industry insiders also pointed out that if people want to make more sustainable choices, the equivalent amount of products purchased for the second time cannot be more expensive than the previous one, and it is more convenient to find a way to fill, so as to ensure that the barriers to sustainability are lower. Consumers want to practice sustainable shopping, but convenience and pricing are the foundations. La Mer's Luminous Lifting foundation, for example, costs half the original replacement price, and Molton Brown perfumes renew in-store for around £35 less than a new bottle.
But regardless of the way it is reused, consumers' novelty is a major obstacle to promoting refillable packaging. There are many varieties of beauty, which are updated regularly, and there are always new ingredients that attract attention to enter the public eye to summon consumers to try new brands and products.
Brands want to make it possible to "refill" beauty products, and joining a reliable platform is also an option. Ren Clean Skincare and Molton Brown were among the first beauty brands to offer their best-selling products in glass bottles on the Loop website, collecting, disinfecting and refilling them once consumers have finished using them, collecting empty bottles, disinfecting and refilling them before putting them back on the shelves.
Suqqu's replaceable core pencils, replacement kits can be sold separately
Nick Dormon, founder of British brand design firm Echo, said the rise of refillable beauty packaging coincided with the increased demand for personalized products, "Brands must adapt to the new behavior of consumer beauty consumption, and today's consumers have very high expectations for convenience, personalization and sustainability." The introduction of a new wave of products, if refilled in mind, will not only prevent excessive packaging waste, but also create new opportunities for more personalized and inclusive solutions. ”WWD
Written by Lucy Geng
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