Reusable & refillable packaging on the rise
Thomas Reiner | 24.06.2020
The German cosmetics company “Rituals” has been developing refill packaging for its products. The packaging relaunch for body creams, skin care products, incense sticks, hand soaps and car perfumes has already been implemented. Further products are to follow. The refill packs already account for around 25 percent of sales in the most important product categories.
Refill and reusable packaging isn’t only very popular with Rituals. They are generally on the rise and promise significant sustainability benefits. According to a study by the LCA Centre, buying refillable packaging can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70 percent, energy consumption by up to 65 percent and water consumption by up to 45 percent.
Rituals’ well-founded eco-balance-sheet approach to choosing the optimum packaging material is exemplary. The company has 100 per cent of its packages tested by independent experts according to the LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) method. This enables it to determine the environmental compatibility of the materials, rationally weigh up possible alternatives and make an informed decision.
To achieve the sustainability benefits of environmentally friendly refill packs, however, new challenges in pack design must also be mastered. This is because the new or modified materials with their specific properties lead to restrictions in design. An exciting task that can only be solved by a team of engineers and designers.
