2008 Editors’ Choice Award Winner: Sustainable Packaging
Green Room Collection
by Smashbox Cosmetics
Smashbox Cosmetics’ Green Room Collection speaks to what consumers want now. Consumers want eco-conscious products that are formulated with natural ingredients. They also like knowing that the packages are biodegradable. Smashbox delivers all of this, while making sure that the brand’s environmental message is heard.
“Raising awareness at the consumer level is critical,” says Sylvie Rouaix, vice president, global product development, Smashbox Cosmetics. “Furthering the awareness of environmental issues in consumers’ minds has an effect on their purchasing decisions—which affects the entire industry.” Smashbox has even partnered with nonprofit organization Trees for the Future. The organization will plant a tree in a developing country for every Green Room product sold.
The compacts in the Green Room Collection are biodegradable and contain eye shadow, face powder, or bronzer. They are made from corn-based polylactic acid (PLA) resin and are supplied by Roberts Cosmetic Packaging. Custom tests had to be developed because there is still a learning curve when working with PLA. “The challenge was to anticipate the interaction of the formula with the package and to test the compact’s durability,” say Rouaix. Decorating options were another concern. A leaf pattern was silk-screened on all the packages.
From the start of the design process, recycling issues were considered. As a result, the compacts don’t contain mirrors. Also, this way the compacts weigh less and require less energy use during shipping. “Every little bit that we can do helps to tackle this huge environmental issue that we all face,” Rouaix says.
The compacts’ metal hinges and pans can be easily removed by consumers, making the compact 100% compostable. It will take a few changes in our recycling system, however, to make sure that this package doesn’t end up in a landfill. Rouaix remains optimistic and believes that perhaps one day the United States will adopt composting as a general practice. “The many companies that are already using biodegradable, compostable materials like PLA, for all sorts of consumer products, are helping to speed up the process of change,” Rouaix says.
The Green Room Collection also contains “two-in-one” polyethylene tubes with a dual-chambered tube-in-a-tube design. Two sizes of this tube were produced. The smaller tube, with a flock-tip applicator, contains separate compartments for lip color and clear gloss. The products mix when dispensed through the same opening. The larger tube contains two face products, a primer and moisturizer, which simultaneously flow from separate openings in the cap. The tubes were supplied by Wormser.
All of the cartons in the line were made from paperboard that is certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and are supplied by CDW. Soy-based inks were used on both the primary packages and cartons.
CPC Packaging awards panelist Nicole Smith, environmental director for Design & Source Productions Inc., weighs in with her evaluation of the line. “There are definitely a few more things this brand could be doing with its packaging to make it even greener, but it’s a step in the right direction because finding ways to use alternative materials is so important,” says Smith. “It helps us all move a step closer, as an industry, toward even greater environmental awareness. It’s brands like this that are paving the way for more progress in the future.”