Why Sustainable Packaging in Beauty Is No Longer Optional

Discussion with Ernesto Paolillo

With over 25 years of experience in the cosmetic packaging industry, Ernesto Paolillo has led innovation and sustainability efforts across some of Europe’s top manufacturers, including Induplast and BARALAN. From mascara tubes to body care bottles, Paolillo has touched nearly every segment of the sector, combining technical acumen with business leadership. In this expert interview, he explores the evolution of sustainability in beauty packaging, the challenges of circular design, and how regulatory frameworks like the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) are reshaping the industry.

Sustainable Packaging Systems in Beauty Sector

Sustainability in beauty packaging has transformed from a superficial brand accessory into a multifaceted business imperative, driven not just by consumer demand but by mounting regulatory pressure and supply chain realities. While the idea of reusability once stemmed from cultural norms. “I used to bring back the glass bottles to have a sort of discount. It was in the culture, at least in Italy”, modern packaging sustainability focuses on measurable impact;lowering footprint, streamlining logistics, and meeting global standards. 

Cosmetic brands must cut weight, boost extraction (up to 98% with airless systems), and simplify designs for recyclability. Paolillo emphasizes that sustainable design must consider the entire product lifecycle, not just aesthetics or shelf appeal. "We have to design not only for the consumer but for the complete path from raw material to recycling", he explains.

Still, progress has been uneven. While consumer awareness is growing, mass adoption of sustainable practices remains limited. According to Paolillo, "we are very far from reaching a good level of consciousness in the consumer, but a big part has been done".

Challenges Slowing Circular Beauty Packaging Adoption

Despite the momentum behind sustainability, circular design in beauty packaging faces substantial hurdles; economic, technical, and cultural. “The first barrier is investment”, says Paolillo. Developing recyclable, eco-friendly packaging requires investment, and for smaller producers, that cost can feel like a barrier that’s hard to overcome.

Cost is a major hurdle, recycled materials are pricier than virgin plastics, and refill systems add costly logistics. Smaller producers often can’t keep up, especially with added technical challenges. “Sometimes we struggle even to receive the recycled materials because there's not such a big quantity of recycled materials on the market”, Paolillo notes.

Beyond infrastructure, there’s the issue of mindset. Consumer education and behavioral shifts take time, and companies often resist making upfront sacrifices for long-term gains. “Changing people's culture takes time, it’s not something you can manage overnight or expect to happen all at once”, Paolillo says. It’s a shift that may need to be actively driven, but it also requires people to embrace the new system and adapt along the change curve.

From Multimaterial to Monomaterial in Beauty Packaging

Paolillo highlights real-world innovations at Induplast that embed circularity without sacrificing function. One approach has been redesigning historically multimaterial packs into monomaterial alternatives. “In the past we used to add ABS, for instance, which is the most used material in cosmetic packaging”, because it offers a strong balance between technical performance, visual appeal, and chemical resistance.

Polypropylene may lack ABS’s visual appeal, but its recyclability makes it a smarter choice. Induplast has also reduced waste by reworking cap designs and using ultra-thin tube walls to minimize material use. “We’ve now redeveloped the same packaging with the exact same shape, though with slightly lower aesthetic quality, since it’s made entirely from polypropylene", he explains. While it doesn’t match the aesthetic quality of ABS, using monomaterial polypropylene makes the packaging recyclable, which is a valuable trade-off. 

The company is also piloting reusable formats where consumers retain the outer shell and only replace the inner product. “We’ve also introduced reusable packaging systems, where certain components are kept by the consumer. This allows us to simply supply the product in a smart, minimalist refill pack that fits into the original container”, Paolillo shares.

Collaborative Packaging Innovation in Beauty Sector

Paolillo sees collaboration as key to driving packaging innovation. Through platforms like Proplast, he shows how engaging multiple stakeholders can uncover insights that extend well beyond design. “Partnership is the most effective way to always improve not only the packaging but the complete set”, he affirms, emphasizing that progress requires the entire ecosystem to move in sync.

Cross-functional alignment helps companies see how packaging decisions impact everything from formulation to disposal, insights often lost when teams operate in silos. “It's important to have connection with all the other parts of the logistic chain”, he notes. “To understand the next step, and share ideas with people who have a different view”. By fostering dialogue between manufacturers, suppliers, fillers, and recyclers, the industry can co-create solutions that are not just technically feasible but commercially scalable and environmentally sound.

Reconciling Aesthetic Design with Sustainable Beauty Packaging

In an industry built on visual allure, reconciling sustainability with aesthetic expectations remains one of the toughest and most nuanced challenges. “Aesthetic is still the parameter that our customers use to judge and to evaluate the packaging”, Paolillo admits, underscoring how beauty standards still dominate procurement decisions. As more brands request eco-conscious options like PCR (post-consumer recycled) materials, many still push back when these come with visible imperfections that deviate from luxury norms.

“They say, I cannot accept this defect”, he shares. Paolillo explains that working with post-consumer materials often means accepting color inconsistencies or surface variations, as recycled inputs are mixed from diverse sources. These natural imperfections, while environmentally sound, can challenge conventional aesthetic expectations in the beauty sector.

The push for flawless design clashes with the realities of sustainable materials. While top brands can lead change, smaller ones often struggle. Chemical recycling offers a middle ground, preserving aesthetics while boosting sustainability. The industry’s challenge is to make imperfection part of the story and win consumer support.

Sustainable Beauty Packaging and Consumer Behavior Trends

While younger generations are often perceived as sustainability champions, Paolillo warns against placing too much weight on this narrative. Their purchasing habits, frequent switching, aesthetic-driven choices, and a preference for smaller formats, may inadvertently increase environmental impact. “Young people like to change very often”, he notes. “They prefer small packs, but more packaging per milliliter means more waste”.

Induplast, like many suppliers, doesn’t interact directly with consumers, relying on brands and fillers. To close that gap, Paolillo pushes for offering clients a wide range of packaging, from premium to sustainable, so they can match evolving demands. Still, he remains realistic: “The real demand for packaging of eco-friendly  products from the consumer, I think it's still very low”, Paolillo shares.

How Unclear Packaging Rules Impact Sustainable Innovation

The EU's PPWR is set to transform beauty packaging, but vague technical guidance is creating uncertainty and slowing progress, despite its sustainable goals. “The PPWR is already active, but the rules are not yet written and not clear”, Paolillo warns, highlighting the gap between legislation and practical implementation.

In particular, the absence of clearly defined metrics, such as weight-to-product ratios or mandatory recycled content thresholds, creates investment risk. Paolillo captures the concern felt across the sector: “If I design a new pack with thicker walls for a more premium look, will I be able to keep using it, or will evolving regulations force me to pull it from my catalog in two years, making that investment obsolete?”. For companies making multi-year R&D bets, these unknowns can stall progress rather than accelerate it.

Still, Paolillo supports the regulation's broader ambition. Induplast, for its part, has already started aligning its product catalog to future standards. “We had the vision, but others will need help to catch up”. The challenge now is ensuring the rest of the value chain, including small and mid-sized producers, has the clarity, time, and resources to do the same.

Future-Ready Strategies for Circular Beauty Packaging

Looking ahead, Paolillo sees promise in chemical recycling. “We need to explore chemical post-consumer recycling, as it’s the only method that allows us to produce molecularly regenerated plastic with the same properties as virgin material”, he explains.

Unlike mechanical methods, it can regenerate plastics to their virgin state without sacrificing quality. “Chemical recycling is something we're starting to implement, and early examples show that it works very well”, Paolillo shares. The new material works seamlessly with existing injection machines, requiring no changes to settings and performing just like the original.

He also sees potential in user-friendly disassemble  designs, like caps and bottles that can be easily separated for sorting. “We have to make something that is very easy to use ”, he notes. The cap and bottle may separate into different components, but since they’re made from a single material, the design still supports easier recycling”.

Finally, Paolillo emphasizes the need for behavioral incentives. “Nespresso has done an excellent job creating a circular system, their coffee capsules can be returned to the point of sale, where dedicated collection bins are available for proper disposal”, he says. “What’s missing is an incentive to encourage people to do it”.

Insights on Circular Beauty Packaging

From Paolillo’s closing reflections, three imperatives emerge for leaders aiming to scale sustainable transformation in the beauty packaging industry:

• Build Collaborative Ecosystems: Stronger partnerships across the entire value chain, from raw material suppliers to recyclers, can help align innovation and scale circularity.
• Embrace Chemical Recycling at Scale: Chemical recycling holds the potential to regenerate plastics to near-virgin quality, solving current limitations in mechanical recycling and enabling broader use of sustainable materials.
• Design for Responsible Disposal: Without proper end-of-life handling, even the most eco-friendly packaging can become waste. Packaging must be created with recallability  and consumer behavior in mind.