Manufacturing tubes from renewable resources or recycled materials

Tubes made from renewable raw materials: Authenticity for your tubes

The aesthetics of a tube can provide the decisive purchase impulse for customers at the point of sale. In addition to the ingredients of the product, consumers are paying increasing attention to environmentally friendly packaging. Aspects such as sustainability, waste avoidance and recyclability therefore also influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. Manufacturers also place importance on the look & feel of their packaging, which fulfills all functionalities while at the same time perfectly communicating the brand message externally.

For the production of tubes, such holistic concepts can also be implemented using renewable raw materials or recycled material. For us, the perfect packaging is a harmonious combination of appearance, material and message. Because inner values matter just as much as outer ones!

Visionary packaging: tubes made from renewable raw materials

The task of packaging is to communicate a message credibly. Packaging made from renewable raw materials supports the natural message of your cosmetics brand and stands out from the broad range of traditional packaging. Together with you, and depending on the factors of design, disposal route and recyclability, we select the appropriate biobased drop-in bioplastic. This variety of material types enables us to find a tailor-made solution for every application.

High-quality tubes made from biobased polyethylene (Bio-PE)

Tubes made from bioplastic, specifically the biobased Bio-PE I’m green™ biobased Polyethylene, also commonly known as Green PE, combine renewable raw materials and recyclability with attractiveness on the retail shelf. Tubes manufactured from biobased I’m green™ biobased Polyethylene combine the required mechanical and barrier properties with appropriate resistance to the contents and good printability for high attractiveness even without secondary packaging. Depending on the requirements, customers can choose between various biobased PE-HD, PE-LD and PE-LLD grades.

In addition, under the name Terralene®, FKuR offers its own compounds based on biobased polyethylene (Bio PE). To prevent creasing or stress whitening even after repeated use, plastics used to manufacture tubes must be very soft and elastic. At the same time, a certain degree of stiffness is also required to ensure the dimensional stability of the packaging. With our tailor-made Terralene® granules, we have succeeded in achieving an almost optimal combination of the desired properties for tubes.

Compared with biodegradable plastics such as PLA (Poly-Latid-Acid/polylactic acid), Terralene® offers an outstanding oxygen and water vapor barrier. This makes it possible to package goods that are sensitive to moisture and oxygen.

Terralene® has the same properties as conventional polyethylene (PE) and can be processed on existing production equipment. Unlike the production of fossil PE, the basis for producing Bio-PE is not petroleum, but ethylene obtained from sugar cane. During its growth, every plant binds CO2 through photosynthesis and stores the carbon in the form of biomass. The Bio-PE we use is produced from the rapidly renewable plant sugar cane. By using this renewable raw material, one tonne of I’m green™ bio-based HDPE can store up to 2.12 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere (LCA Study conducted by ACV Brasil/2023 (from cradle to Braskem factory gate), Adhering to ISO 14040, ISO 14044, and ISO 14071 standards, this LCA study was subject to a critical review process performed by KPMG.).

Recycled plastics for the production of tubes

To meet consumers’ desire for the highest possible level of sustainability, the industry is implementing measures such as the continuous reduction of packaging weight. However, as the technical possibilities have now largely been exhausted, material selection is moving into focus as a means of improving environmental compatibility. In this context, recycled material is playing an increasing role alongside renewable raw materials. If you are interested in using recycled material or in how tubes made from recyclate can be combined with bioplastic, please feel free to contact us.