Eco-warrior

Quadpack's wooden caps for Jo Malone's Wild Swimming limited fragrance collection / Source: Global Cosmetic Industry

AsiaBeautyCorkEco-warriorEuropeGlassInertLeak ProofLightweightLow-CarbonNorth AmericaOceaniaPackagingRecyclableRecycledRigidSealableTransparent

WHAT WE SAY:

One of the key complaints lodged against glass is that it’s heavier than plastic, which means more emissions during transport, cancelling out all environmental gains. We know that argument doesn’t stand, and now Quadpack is putting any concerns to bed with its Eco-warrior fragrance packaging for the beauty industry.

Made from slimline glass, the result is a bottle that is 13% lighter than a regular one. With a choice of cork or wood caps from sustainably managed sources, it’s the clear winner in the contest against plastic. But to really embrace its potential, recycling rates will need to catch up.

Eco-warrior

WHAT IS ECO-WARRIOR?

Eco-warrior is a lightweight, stripped-back Glass fragrance packaging solution, comprising just three components: a slimline glass bottle, a pump and a cap.
Its lightweight nature is designed to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation. While the Eco-warrior range is marketed as being 13% lighter than a regular bottle, Quadpack claims it’s a full 40% lighter than its own comparable Air line 100 millilitre bottle, making serious savings on weight.
Caps are either made from wood or Cork, and a simple form with a screw neck design makes the Eco-warrior easy to disassemble and suitable for recycling, as well as refill or reuse applications.
The bottle is currently available in 100 millilitre capacity, but further 30 and 50 millilitre versions are in development.

KEY PROPERTIES:

Inert
Leak Proof
Lightweight
Low-Carbon
Recyclable
Recycled
Rigid
Sealable
Transparent

INDUSTRY:

Beauty
Packaging

AVAILABILITY:

Commercially Available

DIVE DEEPER:

Data shows that a glass bottle weighing 540 grams has a carbon footprint of 675 grams of CO2e per litre, while a lightweight glass bottle weighing 420 grams has a carbon footprint of 525 grams of CO2e per litre, a reduction of approximately 23%. An LCA of your standard bottle versus an Eco-warrior bottle would be necessary to calculate your exact savings.
Wood, one of two cap material choices, is a long-standing option for Quadpack’s customers. A source of constant innovation, its 2021-launched Woodacity range offers full functionality without plastic inserts. Cork is a more recent addition to the roster and comes as a by-product of the wine industry. Both materials are sourced sustainably, and all wood is FSC and PEFC-certified.
Cork is a particularly lightweight option, adding to transportation weight savings. Over 50% of its volume is air and it weighs just 0.16 grams per cubic centimetre.
Not all iterations of Eco-warrior are necessarily plastic-free. The company’s cork is agglomerated with 10% food-grade PU, which it says is to ensure the correct machining of the material. Despite this, Quadpack quantifies its cork caps as a recycled, recyclable mono-material.
Some wooden caps in Quadpack’s product range also have plastic inserts, while dispenser pumps, including Quadpack’s, are generally manufactured from plastic. This will be a central design consideration and point for progression.
All of the materials within the Eco-warrior pack are sourced and manufactured in Europe, although the company also has production facilities in the US and the APAC region.
Decoration options for Eco-warrior bottles include coating, tampo printing, frosting, hot stamping and silk screening. To avoid the use of stickers or sleeves, reducing the material footprint, Quadpack offers the option of engraving liquid capacity directly onto the bottle. Glass is infinitely recyclable, however, recycling rates vary significantly between markets. The US only recycles approximately 33% of all food and beverage glass containers, while recycling rates for glass containers in the EU hit 78% in 2021.

The Eco-warrior next to its heavier counterpart, Air line / Source: Quadpack

A selection of different volumes / Source: Quadpack

KEY FACTS:

50%

of the Quadpack cork cap's volume is air, weighing just 0.16 grams per cubic centimetre, adding to transportation weight savings

13%

Quadpack claims that the Eco-warrior glass bottle is 13% lighter than a regular bottle

33%

of all food and beverage glass containers are recycled in the US, while recycling rates for glass containers in the EU hit 78% in 2021

Key Questions to Ask:

Which market are you catering for?

The higher the recycling rate, the higher the savings in energy, carbon and materials. Investigate the recycling habits and facilities of your audience carefully before launching a glass product.

How can you eliminate plastic entirely?

Depending on your specific choices, Eco-warrior packaging could come with an element of plastic. Consider whether you need pumps or which alternatives you could explore. For instance, Quadpack has auto-loading glass pipettes within its range, and many of its wood-based caps are 100% plastic-free.

What are your plans for decoration?

Make techniques, such as screen printing – which do not contaminate glass – your priority so you do not impede recycling.

If your glass bottles are intended to be reused and refilled, how will you facilitate this?

Fragrance is a complex formula to package, requiring specific material qualities to prevent it from spoiling. As such, many refill pack solutions aren’t viable, but due to the long-term nature of fragrance – a consumer uses one bottle for a number of months – it’s a product category more suitable for in-store refilling systems. Look to Le Labo, which refills empty bottles in store at a 20% discount.