Anwen’s aluminum tubes! The next step towards #lesswaste

Aluminum packaging has recently taken over the cosmetics market. And although aluminum tubes are not a result of new technological innovations, more a return to the well-known (displaced for many years by plastic) packaging used in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry. Aluminum packaging, driven by the wave of increasingly popular minimalism and #lesswaste approach, quickly gained many enthusiasts. 

The advantages of aluminum tubes commonly used in the cosmetics industry are protection from sunlight and air, the possibility of recycling, and multiple-use, lightweight packaging, which is especially important for transportation. 

Aluminum – a perfect solution?

Neither aluminum nor glass packaging, widely considered a better option to the notoriously hated by environmentalists plastic, are perfect solutions. Let’s be realistic. There is no packaging that does not cause any damage to the environment, endlessly recycled in an easy and eco-friendly way. The same applies to aluminum, which is easy and safe to recycle and theoretically even endlessly. It sounds very promising. However, the process of aluminum extraction is no longer entirely neutral for the environment. Depending on the technological solutions used, it may even be more destructive to the environment than plastic [find out more: 1].

However, the apparent advantages of aluminum packaging are the possibility of complete recycling and the relatively low energy consumption of reprocessing [2]. A shift towards greater use of single-material packaging (which is easier to segregate and recycle) and a gradual withdrawal from multi-material packaging seems essential in natural environment protection [3]. 

One should remember that some multi-component packaging (e.g., laminated tubes that often look similar to aluminum tubes or sachets used to distribute cosmetics samples) usually cannot be recycled. Using recyclable materials is not always possible, particularly in the cosmetics or pharmaceutical industries. After all, human health and safety are of utmost importance here. However, whenever possible, we should all strive to care for the environment and natural resources.

The aluminum at Anwen. So what convinced us? And perhaps it will also convince some of our customers….

The use of aluminum tubes in Anwen is one more step towards #lesswaste. Some of our clients may have noticed that we have been gradually changing the way we package our products. Our conditioners and masks are in recyclable PCR tubes, and some of the masks came in glass packaging. We have also constantly revised the way we protect our packages. As a result, we know every type of eco-friendly filling, and our filling “peanuts” are 100% degradable. 

We decided to implement aluminum tubes for our products, motivated by eliminating multi-layered sachets, the least environmentally friendly packaging of all used by Anwen (see more: Young, 2020)[4]. 

Knowing the importance of matching the right cosmetics to the hair type, we do not resign from offering small sizes of our products. We want our clients to have a chance to try the cosmetics before purchasing full-size ones. That was the idea behind our mini-tubes (15 ml). Anwen’s aluminum family will gradually expand with the different types of hair conditioners in mini-tubes and other products in 100 ml aluminum tubes.

The advantages of aluminum tubes, according to Anwen: 

1. #less waste, the possibility of full recycling, and relatively low energy consumption in the processing of packaging
2. to protect the product from air, water, microbes. The additional security provides seals inside the tubes. Our customers can be sure that the product is airtight and has not been opened. 
3. lightweight and compact size that will fit in any makeup bag. Mini-tubes are also an excellent travel solution. 
4. minimalistic look. And this is where we have to admit that aluminum tubes, compared to laminated or plastic ones, have significant limitations in graphic design. We have accepted that our signature “Anwen-style” floral graphics could not be printed on aluminum tubes. But the choice is simple when it comes to environment protection and design. We are more concerned with nature. Therefore, we hope that our clients will appreciate the minimalist design of the aluminum tubes and the idea behind them

Anwen Team

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