The popularity of subscription boxes continues to rise, but has led to some concern about their environmental impact. Not only do these boxes mean more packaging, more often, they can also generate significant plastic waste through miniature beauty products. Not only is plastic primary packaging hard to recycle as a rule, smaller items often aren’t detected by the sensors used to sort packaging waste before recycling. So what steps can conscientious brands take to mitigate their impact on the environment? Let’s look at some examples. 

How can  brands challenge packaging waste?

Aware of consumers’ growing interest in sustainability issues, many beauty companies are coming up with alternatives to beauty “minis”. Some have implemented their own recycling programmes, such as the cosmetics brand MAC, which offers a free lipstick for every six primary packaging products returned. Others are choosing to give more space to solid products, which do away with primary packaging entirely. One major subscription box brand now delivers products in silicone “Stasher bags” that consumers can reuse at home. 

Innovative packaging technologies are indeed key to offering consumers the performance they need alongside the environmental credentials they consider essential. Nissha Metallizing Solutions offers a range of folding boxes, litho lamination solutions and top sheets based on metallized paper, a fully recyclable monomaterial that can be used to create unique, eye-catching boxes for subscription beauty services. To find out more, get in touch with our team.