Building on the momentum of last year’s 65% paper sachet developed for hair and skin care company Nécessaire, Estée Lauder Company (ELC) cosmetics brand Origins is preparing to launch a new 80% paper sample packette in partnership with Arcade Beauty. The recyclable sachet marks a significant step forward in sustainable sampling, replacing the foil-based format traditionally used by beauty brands with a package designed to reduce plastic and carbon emissions while meeting repulpability standards for paper recycling streams.
According to Minghui Cai of ELC’s Sustainable Packaging Development team, the launch reflects Origins’ broader commitment to packaging sustainability, which includes a portfolio redesign that has cut plastic use by 35% and incorporated 30% post-consumer recycled content.
“This new packaging portfolio helps us use 35% less plastic. That is equivalent to 2 million plastic water bottles,” Cai shared with audience members at Clemson University’s 2025 FRESH Food, Packaging & Sustainability Summit in March 2025. “The portfolio redesign has been a multi-year process to get to packaging that we believe is aligned with our sustainability principles, is beautiful, and is truly intentional.”
 | Read this related article on Nécessaire and Arcade Beauty’s sample pack, “Paper Sachet for Skin Care Reduces GHGs by 69%” |
The 80% paper packette was developed over two years and will be used for Origins’ skin care product sampling. It features a simplified, two-ply, mono-dose structure of paper and a dual-purpose barrier and sealant layer. According to Matt Dingee, CSR Packaging for Arcade, the barrier/sealant layer comprises “metallization upon a select thin-gauge material.” Compared to Origins’ previous four-layer foil sample sachet, the new design reduces plastic by 76%, energy consumption by 63%, and GHGs by 69%.
“By transitioning our sampling formats to this innovative solution, we are taking another significant step toward our conscious packaging goals,” says Lauren De Sanctis, executive director of Global Packaging at Origins. “This format supports our commitment to recyclability by design and minimizing multi-material plastic use.”
Developing the new format required extensive collaboration between Origins and Arcade and involved a number of challenges. The first was to provide a barrier that would protect the product for the desired amount of time, while replacing the current materials with as much paper as possible.
“Our research began by assessing a multitude of materials to replace the original layers with thinner material or paper, while still offering barrier and sealing properties,” explains Ciara Donohue, global sustainability and CSR manager at Arcade Beauty. “Upon identification, we paired these new materials with various papers to meet the North American repulpability threshold and allow for manufacturing feasibility.”
The second hurdle was adapting Arcade’s printing, filling, and packaging processes to the new paper-based material, which required technical modifications to its equipment to ensure a result identical to what Origins had with standard, non-paper materials.
“Many of the materials we evaluated were not readily available or failed to protect product bulk,” explains Dingee. “We had to search outside our typical supply chain and retool our machinery to run this stiffer, more paper-dominant structure.”
| | Read this related article, “Aveda’s Recyclable Paper Sample Packet Replaces Multilayer Foil Sachets” |
The packette is classified as recycle-ready and meets North American repulpability thresholds, though regional curbside recyclability may vary. “Origins is the first skin care brand to partner with Arcade on this [80% paper] launch,” said Cai. “We are actively encouraging more brands to adopt this technology as it not only benefits the environment but also supports compliance with emerging regulations.”
According to Donohue, details on the launch date for the Origins packettes and the products that will be available in the new packaging are “forthcoming.” PW
