Aveda pushes PCR

As part of its environmental commitment, Aveda achieves 80% to 100% post-consumer-recycled (PCR) content in much of its packaging.

HDPE shampoo bottles: Minimum 80% PCR Wheaton Plastics div., Alcan Packaging, www.alcan.com Aveda's John Delfausse: 'We
HDPE shampoo bottles: Minimum 80% PCR Wheaton Plastics div., Alcan Packaging, www.alcan.com Aveda's John Delfausse: "We

At Minneapolis-based Aveda, the environmental impact of a new package comes first, cost is second, and design is third. That stems from the company’s mission statement, in which Aveda “strive[s] to set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility.”

So it’s no surprise that this manufacturer of upscale cosmetics and health and beauty products has been on the leading—and some might say bleeding—edge of post-consumer-recycled (PCR) content in its packaging. The company now reaches 80% to 100% PCR in much of its packaging portfolio, with very little below 50% PCR.

Balancing act

Decisions are not always easy. “Our biggest challenge has been trying to make sure we still meet the environmental requirements [of the corporate mission] and maintain the quality of the package we would expect to provide to our customers,” says John Delfausse, Aveda’s vp of packaging.

As an example, the company boosted the PCR content in its high-density polyethylene bottles last year from 45% to 80%. “By doing that, it was a tremendous move,” says Delfausse, “but everybody from the president on down had to accept that the bottles’ color turned grayer. But we saved about 150 tons of virgin polyethylene on an annualized basis. I don’t think any other company is putting that level of recycled material into a cosmetics package.”

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