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Perfume Company Recovers, Recycles Used Fragrance Bottles

_{Marie Redding, Senior Editor}

The recycling movement has gained a new momentum as one fragrance company has begun collecting used fragrance bottles from customers—even if the packaging isn’t from the company’s brand.

Laurice Rahmè, CEO of fragrance brand Bond No. 9 New York, is asking consumers to bring all of their used glass perfume bottles—from any brand—to Bond No. 9 stores and its counters at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Rahmè says that her program is the beauty industry’s first glass-recycling initiative of its kind that includes taking back packages from other brands. She hopes that it will become a model for other companies to follow.

“Zero waste” for the fragrance industry is her goal. “Nothing that we collect will end up in a landfill,” she says.

Rahmè says that she came up with the idea for the program when New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg asked New Yorkers to find ways to help reduce global warming emissions. “Our mayor said that using fewer plastic water bottles would reduce waste. I knew that I could help, too, and wanted to find a way to reduce the number of perfume bottles that aren’t re­cycled,” explains Rahmè.

Bottles that are returned at nationwide retail counters are sent to Bond No. 9’s New York City headquarters. Next, they are sent to Refurbco, a company based in Mount Vernon, NY. Refurbco handles recycling Bond No. 9’s bottles and other brands’ bottles differently.

Bond No. 9 New York bottles are taken apart. Their metal and plastic parts are sorted and sent to appropriate recycling facilities. Any plastic labels and inks are removed from the glass, including printed batch codes. The insides of the glass bottles are sanitized with isopropyl alcohol. The bottles are then hung upside-down to air dry. These bottles are labeled with a disclaimer explaining that the glass has been sanitized and is deemed acceptable for reuse.

Bottles from fragrance brands other than Bond No. 9 New York are also disassembled by Refurbco. Glass, metal, and plastic parts are separated. Glass is sorted again into those that are clear, frosted, or colored. Plastics are separated according to density. The materials are sent to the appropriate recycling facilities specializing in each of the different materials.

The program might turn out to be a brilliant marketing campaign for the Bond No. 9 New York brand. Consumers bringing empty bottles from competing fragrance companies will no doubt be encouraged to try a few Bond No. 9 New York samples and might be persuaded to make a first-time purchase. Refillable pocket sprays are being given as gifts with purchase.

Rahmè also sees the program as an opportunity to build brand awareness among a new generation of consumers, who will most likely think more highly of a brand that proves it is thinking green. “My friends—and customers who are my age—probably won’t have time to bring bottles back. They might look at it as being too much work, because my generation is much more passive when it comes to recycling efforts. It’s their daughters—and my younger clients—who are really into this,” says Rahmè.

Other beauty companies such as MAC Cosmetics have run similar programs. However, Bond No. 9 New York’s program is the first to accept competitors’ packages. MAC Cosmetics has been collecting back its own plastic packages worldwide since the early 1990s. Its program is called Back to MAC. MAC customers are encouraged to return empty plastic packages, such as lipstick cases and compacts, which are then sent to recycling plants. As an incentive, a free product is given with every six packages that are returned. (Consumers have their choice of a free lipstick, lip gloss, or eye shadow.)

The company has seen a recent increase in the number of consumers participating in the program. “It has definitely grown over the years,” says Julianna Grippa, coordinator for MAC global communications. “We feel it’s our obligation to do this and to help our customers become more aware of the need to recycle.”

According to the latest numbers published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, just a quarter of all glass containers in the United States are recycled. Most likely, glass fragrance bottles compose just a small fraction of the glass packages that are currently recovered and recycled.

What happens to fragrance bottle materials that are recycled? According to representatives of Bond No. 9 New York, clear glass can be reused to create more glass products or glass by-products. One such product is “glasphalt,” which is asphalt that contains recycled glass pieces. Plastics are ground up and used in making track surfaces or alternative flooring. Metals can be pulverized and burned, then reused for other metal products.

Does your company run a recycling program that accepts used packages back from the consumer? If so, we’d love to hear about it. E-mail your story to CPC Packaging editor Jennifer Kwok at jennifer.kwok@cancom.com.

L’Oréal Jar Wins NJPEC’s Top Innovation Award

An innovative loose-powder jar won for best packaging innovation at the New Jersey Packaging Executives Club’s (NJPEC) annual awards dinner. The plastic jar was designed by the team at L’Oréal USA and was produced by Topline Products Co. (Wayne, NJ).

Developed for L’Oréal Paris’s Bare Naturale line, the package is portable and user-friendly, providing a packaging solution for a product that is often messy to use and difficult to contain in a package. It consists of a plastic jar and a large clear overcap that snaps off, exposing a brush head underneath. The base of the brush head is attached to the top of the jar’s lid, which also acts as a brush handle when it is unscrewed from the jar.

“This design helps provide faster and easier application because it allows users to immediately dip the brush into the product and apply, all in one continuous motion,” says Mary Moscarell, director of sales for Topline Products. A plastic sifter keeps the powder contained in the base of the jar. “The sifter contains a well where the user can shake off excess powder from the brush. The excess powder remains contained so that it can be reused,” says Moscarell.

“It is extremely innovative for a [package] sold at the mass-market level,” she adds.

Every Bare Naturale product has a different custom-designed brush. “The brushes were all developed based on product formulation,” says Moscarell. One example is the brush designed for All-Over Mineral Glow, which contains hairs of two different lengths. Only the longer hairs pick up product. “This type of brush is ideal for this product. The fullness of the brush allows for quick, easy application because it touches a large area of the face. However, the brush is not dense, because only sheer coverage was desired,” says Serena Eng, vice president of marketing for Topline Products.

Topline used custom-designed equipment to produce the brush. “The equipment is designed to mix the two sets of hairs together, making sure that the hairs are uniformly mixed and dispersed,” explains Eng.

The award was presented to Moscarell, as well as to the team at L’Oréal USA responsible for the package. Team members included L’Oréal Paris’s Justin Kort, vice president of development, and Stephanie Colonese, director of skin care; Rafal Hrymoc, director of technical packaging, luxury division; and from the consumer products division, Eddie Edgar, assistant vice president of purchasing, and David Prague, assistant vice president, technical packaging.

The awards were held on November 15, 2007, at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany, NJ.

Web exclusive! More details on NJPEC's award winners.

L’Oréal and Topline Products solved a few printing challenges during production:

The jar and collar are specially designed so that, when assembled, the embossed name on the collar is always properly aligned and oriented to the name silk-screened on the jar. The collar, with a metallic finish, was embossed with the brand name. The jar is silk-screened with the brand and product names in white.

“A problem often encountered with white silk-screening is that the printing is not completely opaque, which sometimes can make a package look cheap. We used a high­quality ink to ensure that the white would be opaque,” says Eng. “Also, a special curing process ensures that the printing stays on for the life of the product.”

Other noteworthy NJPEC winners were:

• Elizabeth Arden’s Mediterranean body lotion package, which won both the visual impact and marketing impact awards. This package was supplied by Neopac Packaging Solutions.
• AGI Dermatics Remergent line was awarded both the technical merit and pharmaceutical/medical device awards for its airless metered-dose pen package, which was supplied by Lucas Packaging Group.
• Lush Bust by Cygen Cosmeceuticals placed gold in the personal care category. Its bottle was supplied by Creative Packaging Solutions.
  

CPC Packaging Adds Three to Editorial Advisory Board

Three new industry members have joined CPC Packaging’s Editorial Advisory Board: Estée Lauder’s John Delfausse, Liz Claiborne Cosmetics’ Paul McLaughlin, and Stila Cosmetics’ Jill Tomandl.

John Delfausse, vice president of packaging for The Estée Lauder Companies and chief environmental officer for its packaging team, is responsible for global packaging for the Aveda, Origins, and Clinique brands. As chief environmental officer, Delfausse looks for ways to produce environmentally friendly packaging for every Estée Lauder brand. One of his most noted accomplishments has been increasing the levels of postconsumer recyclate (PCR) in Aveda’s packaging, which is now at groundbreaking PCR levels of 80–100%. Delfausse is also a founder and executive committee member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. His career spans 35 years in the cosmetics industry, working in manufacturing and package development for Coty, Avon, Elizabeth Arden, and Andrew Jergens. He has worked for The Estée Lauder Companies for the past 14 years.

Paul McLaughlin, creative director for Liz Claiborne Cosmetics, excels in ensuring that a design concept stays true to a brand’s image. He is in charge of all of the creative aspects of Liz Claiborne’s fragrance brand images, including package design, product extensions, and creative direction for advertising campaigns. McLaughlin’s projects include the following brands: Juicy Couture, Usher, Realities, Ellen Tracy, and Lucky Brand Jeans. Prior to joining Liz Claiborne Cosmetics, McLaughlin was the head of creative at Ocsar de la Renta Parfums, as well as for all of Sanofi Beauty’s European brands, including YSL, Nina Ricci, Van Cleef and Arpels, and Lalique.

Jill Tomandl, vice president of Stila Cosmetics’ global product development, package development, and package design, continually tracks the latest packaging technologies. Recently, she developed the Smoky Eye Talking Compact, the industry’s first compact with a built-in speaker that allows users to listen to prerecorded application instructions. Tomandl has worked for Stila for the past seven years and is based in the company’s Los Angeles office. Previously, she developed packaging for Hard Candy Cosmetics, Prescriptives, Lab Series, and Merle Norman.

Nominate Your Package for CPC Packaging’s 2008 Editors’ Choice Awards

Don’t miss this chance to submit your beauty package for CPC Packaging’s 2008 Editors’ Choice Awards. Avon, Coty, Christian Dior, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, and Procter & Gamble are just a few of the brands that have participated in this premier industry awards program, which welcomes submissions as well as packages nominated by CPC Packaging editors.

Nominees will be judged by CPC Packaging’s editors on originality, design concept, functionality, and technical innovation. Packages must have a launch date for U.S. shelves between March 1, 2007, and February 28, 2008. The five categories are cosmetic, fragrance, personal care, sampling/promotional, and eco-friendly.

Each winner will be covered in an exclusive one-page story in CPC Packaging’s May/June issue. The winners will be presented with awards at a ceremony at the Luxe Pack New York trade show taking place May 21–22.

If you would like to nominate a package, please mail a note along with a sample of the product you are nominating to CPC Packaging, Editors’ Choice Awards, c/o Canon Communications llc, 11444 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064. Entries must be received by February 15, 2008. There is no fee to enter. For more information, call editor Jennifer Kwok at 310/ 445-3763 or e-mail jennifer.kwok@cancom.com.

CTFA Changes Name, Promotes Consumer Safety Mission

The Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (Washington, DC) has changed its name to the Personal Care Products Council. It has also reemphasized its goal to protect consumers by launching a new Web site about ingredients. The Web site provides information about ingredients found in most beauty products in the U.S. market to help consumers make informed purchasing choices.

The Web site, www.cosmeticsinfo.org, contains information on more than 1500 ingredients in 13 beauty product categories that the association says “represent a majority of all ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care products today.” The site also includes links to other authoritative bodies and scientific research linked to ingredients.

“The wide range of beauty and personal care products we represent are essential to today’s lifestyles, and consumers turn to us for accurate information about them,” said Marc Pritchard, president of global strategy for Procter & Gamble and chairman of the board of the newly dubbed Personal Care Products Council. “This new Web site is a fulfillment of that trust and offers consumers the important information they seek about the products and ingredients they purchase for themselves and their families.”

Founded in 1894, the organization’s mission is to help promote safety for beauty products. The name change better reflects its diverse membership, which includes manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers of beauty products.

U.S. Wins Platinum Award in International Design Competition

New York–based design agency Wallace Church Inc. took home the platinum Pentaward trophy for its package design for Right Guard RGX Body Spray by Dial Corp.

Wallace Church’s design concept was unusual for this type of mass-market product. “We communicated the brand’s message through the use of color. We used lots of imagery, as opposed to words,” explains Rob Wallace, man­aging partner, Wallace Church. “We were very fortunate to work with courageous design managers who wanted to have a unique presence within the body spray category.”

The first annual Pentawards, dedicated to package designers, were presented at the Luxe Pack Monaco trade show last October. Competing design firms were categorized by their country of origin. Thanks to Wallace Church, the United States made it to the winner’s circle.

A complete list of winners can be found at www.pentawards.org.

Package Designer Marc Rosen Speaks on Growth of Sustainable Packaging

At The Return of Sustainable Luxury seminar at the Luxe Pack Monaco trade show last October, moderator and designer Marc Rosen reflected on how the green movement has changed over the years, and how it has affected packaging.

“Although consumers in the past have protested for recycled cereal boxes, they never insisted on [recyclable packaging] for their beauty products—until now,” he said.

He also reminisced about how companies scrambled to find ways to produce recyclable materials. “Thirty years ago when the world was less aware [of green packaging], the glass for fragrance bottles and skin care jars was recyclable—but it was very expensive to manufacture recyclable paperboards and plastics,” Rosen told conference attendees.

Several experts addressed the topic of using sustainable materials in luxury packaging. Rochelle Bloom, president of The Fragrance Foundation, explained the various green efforts being made by fragrance manufacturers. Read the story at right for more on Bloom’s presentation.

Fragrance Foundation President Says Fragrance Industry Going Green

“If all of the packaging materials that were used in 2005 had been recycled or reused, we would have saved the energy equivalent of 9 trillion gallons of gasoline, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Rochelle Bloom during her conference presentation at Luxe Pack Monaco. Bloom, who is president of The Fragrance Foundation, spoke about the ways in which the fragrance industry has addressed environmental concerns.

“When [moderator Marc Rosen] first asked me to join this panel and speak about the fragrance industry as it pertains to sustainable luxury, I told him that hardly anything was being done. I thought that the industry was slow to jump on this bandwagon. Frankly, I believed that the [combination of the] green movement and luxury fragrances was an oxymoron,” Bloom told the crowd. “Boy, was I wrong.”

Selling refillable fragrance bottles is one environment-friendly solution that has been embraced by several fragrance manufacturers for years. Fifteen years ago, Angel by Thierry Mugler was one of the first well-known brands to encourage its customers to refill fragrance bottles. “Thierry Mugler’s star-shaped bottle has a dramming unit with an airtight canister that contains 16.9 oz of fragrance—enough to refill the 2.6-oz bottle six times,” said Bloom.

Advancements are also being made by package designers and engineers to come up with new ways to use materials. Bloom cited Donna Karan Gold parfum as an example. “This bottle was designed so that its metal and glass parts can be separated and properly recycled,” she explained.

Manufacturing is another area in which environmental effects can be taken into account. Glass bottles supplier Pochet (Wayne, NJ) has changed its factories so that recycled water is now used, according to Bloom. “They have also replaced acid-etching with spraying,” she added.

Fragrance formulators are making their own green contributions as well. Givaudan uses methods it calls “ethical sourcing” to obtain certified-organic raw materials, which are used to produce essential oils. Firmenich uses an innovative extraction process that is more environmentally friendly than conventional methods.

Extra! CPC Packaging Launches E-Newsletter

This year, CPC Packaging subscribers can keep an eye out for Bulletin, a new e-newsletter that delivers an extra dose of packaging information. Bulletin provides an in-depth look at a specific packaging component, including an overall industry report and links to suppliers offering products within that category. The first installment on tubes debuted in January.

Download CPC Packaging’s Webcast on FDA Labeling Regulations

On December 13, readers were advised on national and international labeling regulations during CPC Packaging’s exclusive Webcast titled Understanding Labeling Regulations and How to Design Them into Your Package. Speakers Holly Young, CEO of Hirschhorn + Young Graphics, and Art Georgalas, director of new technologies at product formulator TRI-K Industries, also answered questions about FDA’s labeling monograph revised last August. To access the archived session, visit www.iian.ibeam.com/events/cano001/24615/.

 

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