Business Beat
Environmental Friendliness Wins Big at AmeriStar Awards
Aveda’s 2006 Earth Month candle.Beauty packages that were recyclable, that reduced their use of packaging materials, and that incorporated more recycled content were among those to win at the Institute of Packaging Professionals’ AmeriStar awards.
Aveda’s 2006 Earth Month candle received AmeriStar’s special 3M Integrity Award because it is the most environmentally friendly candle package that Aveda has produced to date.
The candle’s folding carton incorporates 55% postconsumer recyclate (PCR). Aveda used recycled paperboard scrap left over from the company’s previous folding-carton jobs. The scrap sheets were flipped over and printed with a decorative pattern that disguised any previously printed graphics. Soy inks were used.
The candle’s glass holder contains a minimum of 95% PCR. Aveda says this is a very high amount of PCR that is not typically seen in the United States. The Aveda candle also received an AmeriStar award in the health and beauty aids category.
Aveda’s Scalp Remedy. High levels of PCR also made Aveda’s Scalp Remedy packaging a winner in the category. The product’s carton is 77% PCR, which is an improvement from a previous level of 55%. According to Aveda, this level of recycled content is rarely seen in retail cartons. The primary packaging comprises innovative unit-dose vials and an applicator tool that hair stylists can use to apply product directly to the scalp.
The Donna Karan Gold fragrance package also received an AmeriStar award in the health and beauty aids category. The fragrance bottle, which features an anodized aluminum sleeve, was designed so that all of its packaging components can be separated and sorted for recycling.
The company chose not to use glue or double-faced tape to adhere the sleeve to the glass bottle because those materials would have made it difficult to separate the package’s parts. Instead, the sleeve was molded with feet at the bottom that are sturdy enough to allow the sleeve to lock into place and remain in place during package production and use, but that are flexible enough to allow the sleeve to be removed. For more information on this package, see this issue's Metal Containers feature story.
Schick Quattro for Women Go! razor.Another environmentally friendly winner in the health and beauty aids category was the Schick Quattro for Women Go! razor. The razor is sold in a secondary package that customers can reuse as a travel case. According to parent company Schick-Wilkinson Sword, by being reusable, the package reduced the amount of material, in weight, going to landfills by 85%, when compared with typical disposable clamshell razor packaging. This estimate of waste savings assumes that consumers reuse the outer case instead of throwing it away.
The company says that a materials savings of approximately 10% was realized by switching to the injection-molded polypropylene travel case, a sturdy polypropylene header card (which allows the package to be hung in stores or from a hook during travel), and a tamper-evident shrink sleeve.
Stila Cosmetics.Other winners in the health and beauty aids category were recognized for their user-friendly and innovative designs. They included Hawaiian Tropic’s Duo Pack, Clinique’s Derma White Powder Makeup compact, Estée Lauder’s Perfectionist Correcting Concentrate pen, and Stila Cosmetics’ makeup packaging. Topline Products was named as a supplier for Stila. A beauty brand that won in the display category was Redken Laboratories for a point-of-purchase display supplied by Diamond Packaging.
AmeriStar awards will be presented to the winners on May 16 at the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference in Rosemont, IL.
CPC Packaging to Host Packaging Conference at Cosmoprof North America
Do you have questions about packaging? If so, don’t miss CPC Packaging’s What Brands Need to Know conference happening at the Cosmoprof North America trade show in Las Vegas this July. Whether your beauty company is already established, just starting up, or if you are still considering launching your own brand, you won’t want to miss this event.
The conference will be split into two parts. Part one, How to Impress Retailers and Avoid Packaging Pitfalls, will take place Sunday, July 15. During this conference, attendees will learn about how to make their packages attractive to retailers and customers. Sephora’s Nicole Frusci, director of brand marketing, will discuss Sephora’s criteria for selecting products to retail and what makes a package get noticed. Marketers will also hear a firsthand account of the packaging challenges brands encounter from the general manager of Dashing Diva, Deborah Storz. Other speakers include Rick Goldberg, owner and founder of Brand Architects.
Part two of the conference, Understanding Labeling Regulations and How to Apply Them to Your Package, will take place Monday, July 16. Industry experts will speak on regulations for labeling cosmetics and what labeling content packages must include. Attendees will also learn how to comply with labeling regulations while maintaining an eye-catching package design. Speakers will include Carl Geffken of Carl Geffken Consultants and Holly Young of Hirschhorn and Young.
For more information and to register for the show, visit www.cosmoprofnorthamerica.com.
Task Group Redefines, Reevaluates Sustainable Packaging Industry
At the first meeting of the Institute of Packaging Professionals’ (IoPP; Naperville, IL) new Sustainable Packaging Task Group, members decided to take a step backward. They decided to start at the beginning by redefining and reexamining the sustainable-packaging market in order to more thoroughly understand it. To do so, the group divided itself into three subgroups.
The first group is in charge of defining industry terms. Starting with the definitions put forth by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, the subgroup will finalize and agree on a uniform list of industry terms. The second group is charged with reviewing and gaining an understanding of the metrics used in the industry. The third group is responsible for creating a general knowledge base on sustainable packaging.
“Other groups, such as the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, have done good work already in defining sustainable packaging and putting packaged-goods companies in a position to meet the requirements not only of Wal-Mart, but of others, too,” said Laura Donnelly, who was named Task Group chair. “What IoPP hopes to do with this Sustainable Packaging Task Group is to get beyond what you might call ‘visionary’ concepts and to develop concrete, practical, actionable tools that IoPP members can use.”
Each committee will report on its progress at the next Task Group meeting, which will be held during the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference in May.
Held in Holland, MI, on January 24–25, the first meeting of the Sustainable Packaging Task Group attracted more than 100 packaging professionals.
On-line Voting Now Mandatory for FiFi Awards
This year, all voting for the FiFi Fragrance of the Year Awards will be conducted on-line, The Fragrance Foundation has announced. (Only Fragrance Foundation members are eligible to vote.)
To provide voters with more information on the nominees, the foundation has added a “2006 Fragrance Launches” section to its Web site. This section contains information on all of the nominated fragrances, including pictures. It can be viewed at www.fragrancedirectory.info/ usadirectory.
Members will be given a code to access the voting site. A ballot for the first round of voting was e-mailed to members in February. A ballot for the second round will be e-mailed during the week of April 30, once the top five Fragrance of the Year finalists have been announced at the FiFi nominees breakfast on April 27.
The breakfast will feature the annual A Look at Outstanding Packages guide, written and produced by CPC Packaging. It includes in-depth stories on 20 of the awards’ best-packaging nominees. The booklet is the only one of its kind available at the nominees breakfast.
Ex-Tracts Presents Awards
The Ex-Tracts trade show usually attracts many new, entrepreneurial beauty companies that hope to connect with key retailers. As a result, the show’s awards competition often highlights unusual products and packages. This year didn’t disappoint the novelty-seekers.
Pick Up Eyeliners was the best packaging winner.Pick Up Eyeliners by The Balm won the top award for best packaging. The set of miniature eye pencils is housed in a paperboard box that is slightly larger than a matchbook. The ingenious part of the package is a hidden, built-in pencil sharpener located on the side of the box.
At the awards, another attention-getting beauty product wasn’t even a product for humans. Sexy Beast, a new luxury dog-grooming line, won best new product awards in two categories. Its signature fragrance won best new cosmetic/fragrance, and Fluffing Powder won best of show.
At the show, a sweet-smelling Yorkshire Terrier named Machi helped lure guests into Sexy Beast’s booth. “We met so many people at the show, and everyone seemed to be really excited about the line. So far, we’ve gotten a great response,” says Beth Ehrenberg, marketing manager, Sexy Beast. “Our fragrance packaging has also definitely helped attract attention,” she adds.
Sexy Beast’s fragrance bottle was inspired by the shape of a dog bone.Sexy Beast’s signature fragrance is packaged in a brown bottle with a white box, both of which are shaped like dog bones. Molded with a soft-touch resin, the plastic bottle has a hidden pump integrated in the package.
Karim Rashid designed the packaging. “I was inspired by the objects that are in a dog’s everyday life and the bond between dog and owner, resulting in a design that is an iconic and subtle representation of the dog bone. The monumental shape is clean, while simultaneously reflecting solidity and strength,” explains Rashid on Sexy Beast’s Web site.
CPC Packaging participated in the awards judging. The Ex-Tracts show took place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City on January 28–31. The next Ex-Tracts show will be held August 12–15.