What is the current state of sustainable packaging development in the cosmetics supply chain? This will be discussed on Thursday, March 20, at Cosmopack, Hall 20 of Cosmoprof, the leading international trade fair dedicated to cosmetics and industry technologies, at 3:45 PM during the speech: "Never Ending Beauty: Cosmetic Packaging between Circularity and Supply Chain Synergy / Sustainability of the Cosmetic Product" organized by Cosmetica Italia, the National Association of Cosmetic Companies, and Aliplast (Hera Group), European leader in recycled plastics.
Circularity continues to increasingly permeate cosmetics. The most recent push comes from the new EU Regulation 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR), which sets requirements for the entire packaging life cycle, including measures such as improving recyclability and incorporating recycled materials. The regulation also stipulates that by 2030, member states must achieve 70% recycling of packaging waste.
But beyond legal obligations, it is consumer awareness that is setting the course. According to the "Sustainability in Packaging 2023" report by McKinsey & Company, 55% of global consumers are very concerned about the environmental impact of packaging, while between 60% and 70% would be willing to pay a premium for sustainable packaging. In the Old Continent, according to the European Parliament study "Plastic Waste and Recycling in the EU: Numbers and Facts" updated in 2023, each person generates an average of 36.1 kg of plastic packaging waste, but only 41% of this is recycled. It is within this framework that Cosmetica Italia and Aliplast launched a partnership in 2023 to develop circularity across the entire supply chain: the use of recycled materials and the design of recyclable cosmetic packaging.
A partnership that culminated in the creation of the white paper "Plastic Packaging in the Cosmetics Sector – A Guide to More Circular Production," an operational document outlining the guidelines for creating easily recyclable containers.
As the next step in this collaboration, in 2024, the two organizations participated in Milano Beauty Week – The week dedicated to the culture of beauty and well-being – by using art to communicate the sector’s sustainability with the project “Never Ending Beauty,” open to the general public.
Other supply chain players such as Eurovetrocap (cosmetic container producer) and Pink Frogs (cosmetics producer) were also involved in creating a prototype bottle designed following the white paper guidelines and produced with low environmental impact materials.
Now that the path has been outlined, the goal is to spread the collaborative model across the entire cosmetic value chain. This will be the focus of the discussion on March 20, where Michele Petrone (CEO of Aliplast), Giampaolo Herrmann (CEO of Eurovetrocap), and Matteo Locatelli (CEO of Pink Frogs Cosmetics) will share their insights.
"Aliplast can make a decisive contribution to circularity in beauty because it is positioned at the start of the cycle as a supplier of recycled plastic and at the end as a recycler of end-of-life packaging," explains Michele Petrone, CEO of Aliplast. "The plastic market is going through a complex period, characterized by economic imbalances and industrial challenges. We at Aliplast believe that investing in quality and fostering supply chain collaboration are the winning choices. The hope is that soon we can move from prototyping to large-scale production of sustainable packaging, offering cosmetic companies solutions that are increasingly aligned with market sensitivities and regulatory requirements."
Aliplast will be present at Cosmoprof, from March 20 to 23,
in Hall 20, Stand A16