Business Beat:CPC Packaging’s Advisory Board Talks Green, Organic
At CPC Packaging’s annual luncheon in May with its Editorial Advisory Board members, the main topic of discussion turned to sustainability and organic products. An hour-long discussion ensued about the current challenges that these seasoned experts face.
Green Perceptions
Jeff Wass and designer Jane Tarallo.
Jane Tarallo, president of Jane Tarallo LLC, said that sustainability is still confusing for consumers, as well as the industry. “There are so many companies looking to promote new products under the green umbrella to gain more business,” she said. “It’s hard for the consumer to tell the difference between what is truly environmentally friendly and what isn’t, because looks can be deceiving.”
Jill Tomandl, vice president of global product and package development and design for Stila Cosmetics, said that she can directly relate to the issue of consumer perception. “We used to have paper compacts made from recycled material, but we switched to metallized palettes that are refillable. They’re more sustainable because they can be reused,” she says. “Then we realized that consumers associate paper with being more environmentally friendly. Now we’ll be launching some products in the paper compacts again.”
She added, “Sometimes what is really green is different from what consumers might think. It depends how green is defined and whether packages are made from recycled material or if they are recyclable or sustainable.”
Consumer perception also doesn’t always jive with reality when it comes to products that are labeled as organic or natural, said the board members.
Estée Lauder’s Harry Bennett (left) and Roger Caracappa (right).
“I’d love to ask consumers what they think the definition of organic is. It would be interesting to see how much their definitions differ from the USDA’s,” said Harry Bennett, vice president of package engineering, package testing, and packaging operations for Estée Lauder. Bennett said that he also feels that certifications become confusing when products are sold globally. “What does the USDA certified-organic seal even mean to the European customer?”
Packaging Challenges
CPC Packaging‘s Editorial Advisory Board members, from left to right: Jeff Wass, Jane Tarallo, Jill Tomandl, Harry Bennett,
Roger Caracappa, and Christopher Brosius. Members not in attendance: Too Faced Cosmetics’ Jerrod Blandino, Estée Lauder’s John Delfausse, and Liz Claiborne’s Paul McLaughlin.
“It can be very challenging to ‘be green’,” said Jeff Wass, director of package engineering for Avon. “Customers say that they want packaging to be more environmentally friendly, but at the end of the day, the challenge is managing the additional costs.”
The Estée Lauder Companies handles this by forecasting possible higher costs into their budgets for different projects, said Roger Caracappa, Estée Lauder’s executive vice president of global packaging, quality assurance, merchandising, corporate store design, and retail operations. “Adjusting your budget to accommodate these new materials is an option, or designing within the new cost parameters without exceeding the budget.”
He added, “The designer has a customer, and that customer is marketing. Everyone has to be on the same page. For example, if a decision is made not to use any heavy metals to decorate a package, then designers have to accept certain colors and the fact that there are limitations.”
CPC Packaging publisher Jim Wagner (left) and perfumer Christopher Brosius (right).
Christopher Brosius, perfumer and designer for Christopher Brosius Ltd., said that he feels that design is the area where innovation is lacking, and that green doesn’t have to mean boring. “Even if there are limitations with having only certain materials to work with because you want to be green, a truly creative person should still manage to come up with new ideas,” he said.
Another subject that Wass brought up was the topic of retailer scorecards for sustainable packaging. “It measures you against [your brand’s packaging] reduction, requiring a 5% reduction [of packaging] per year. The companies that are already thinking about the environment and [that already] don’t have packages designed with a lot of excessive components or material will have a harder time complying [with this rule] than other [companies] that have more [excess packaging] to reduce,” he pointed out.