Estée Lauder Companies to roll out new sustainable resin packaging in 2021

The beauty and cosmetics brand will bring a first of its kind “advanced recycled resin” tube to market.

Estée Lauder Companies has unveiled a new sustainable packaging tube as a result of a partnership with global chemistry leader Sabic, and Albéa.

These partnerships will package Origins in a sustainable tube using advanced recycling tech.

Origins will become the first prestige beauty brand to use the new advanced resin packaging technology from Sabic. This tube is made of post-consumer mixed plastics material that had previously been highly challenging to recycle.

“Exploring the uses of advanced recycled PCR has incredible potential to help drive the achievement of our sustainable packaging goals — and we are excited to bring this product to market,” said the Estée Lauder Companies’ vice president of global packaging, Sushil Iyer.

This new alliance between the companies represents a first for the industry. Many project that this will lay the foundation for converting more recycled post-consumer packaging into packaging for prestige products.

The innovative resin packaging tube will initially launch next year for one of the Origin products.

The tube will launch in 2021 for the Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask. This product is the brand’s best-selling product.

“This co-development highlights the importance of partnership and audacity across the value-chain, which is crucial to accelerate the transition to recyclable and reusable packaging,” said Albéa Americas vice president of sales, Stéphane Barlet.

The sustainable tube will be made using circular polymer resin. This consists of Sabic’s certified circular polyethylene and polypropylene. The high performing tube will be manufactured by Albéa using these recycled resins.

“We have an exciting opportunity to define how the prestige beauty industry can create sustainable, attractive packaging solutions that please both consumer and the planet,” said Origins vice president of global marketing and product development Francesca Damato, when discussing the new sustainable resin packaging. She added that the new tube’s launch is a significant step forward in the direction of “a circular economy,” but remains only a first step. The ultimate goal of moves such as this one is to “help to close the loop on plastic waste.”