Lumene launches fully biobased cosmetic packaging

Jan 18, 2024

Finnish beauty brand Lumene has become the first to launch a biobased packaging application in which both the jar and the label are made with renewably sourced material.

The new jar and the self-adhesive label are manufactured from materials derived from bio-naphtha. Lumene took a holistic view of the whole package by using renewable fossil-free feedstocks in the primary plastic as well as the label, said Eliisa Laurikainen, business development manager at UPM Raflatac. "Both are critical to the brand experience and integral to the circularity and climate performance of packaging," she emphasised.

UPM Biofuels, in Finland, produces the bio-naphtha from tall oil, a residue of the pulping process. UPM Biofuels markets it under the UPM BioVerno name. This wood-based renewable naphtha can be used to replace fossil raw materials in various end uses.

In this case, it is processed into certified renewable polypropylene by Sabic and converted into a cosmetic container. The product label is printed on wood-based UPM Raflatac Forest Film label material.

For Lumene, the choice of material was determined by the brand's ambition to reduce the carbon footprint of their packaging.

"Lumene's ambition is to have 80% of its packaging made from recycled and biobased plastics by 2025," explained Essi Arola, head of R&D Packaging and Sustainability at Lumene.

"We are committed to replacing fossil-based feedstocks with renewable ones.

Annually, some 1.5 million jars and film labels will be made based on renewable raw materials, reducing the volume of fossil-based plastics used by over 60 tons as well as significantly lowering the packaging's carbon footprint - ‘an excellent example of a future beyond fossils’, noted Juha Rainio, sales and marketing director at UPM Biofuels.

The PP produced by Sabic is part of that company's Trucircle portfolio. "We firmly believe that collaboration and innovation are driving the sustainable transformation of our industry. SABIC's certified renewable materials demonstrate how our Trucircle solutions can contribute toward our shared goals for carbon neutrality," said Lada Kurelec, General Manager, PP & E4PS Business at Sabic.

Each partner in the supply chain has earned ISCC Plus sustainability certification.The UPM Raflatac's Forest Film product range and Sabic's PP are produced using sustainable bio-feedstock, replacing the equivalent amount of fossil resources used in the production process, using a mass balance approach, accounting for the amount of sustainable resources.

Please enter a valid email address.

Please enter your email address.

Please verify captcha.

Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

View the discussion thread.