As a result of a collaboration started in 2022, LUMENE now utilizes wood-residue-based UPM BioVerno™ naphtha in their 50ml moisturizer jars, and their labels in the core product ranges. The labels used are UPM Raflatac Forest Film™ label material.
The new 97% bio-attributed* jar, launched August 2023, is LUMENE’s most used packaging with 1.5 million moisturizer products sold annually. The new jar has an essential role in LUMENE’s sustainability roadmap. As the jar is made of wood-residue-based material, no additional forest is logged to produce them. The jar is also fully recyclable – a crucial attribute for LUMENE and the end users of their products, as well as for the EU’s forthcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which aims to make all packaging fully recyclable by 2030.
“With the new jar LUMENE is able to reduce the use of fossil plastic by over 60 tons annually and lower its CO2 emissions. For consumers the change is not evident. The new jar and the label have the same visual appearance and properties as the previous, fossil-based versions. However, it is a more sustainable option for a conscious consumer and one possibility to make a better choice,” says Essi Arola, Head of R&D, Packaging and Sustainability at LUMENE.
Reducing the use of fossil materials is a worldwide challenge. One of the best ways of tackling it is collaboration in the value chain.
“Bio-attributed solutions are transforming the world of materials in everyday consumer products. We are committed to replacing fossil-based feedstocks with renewable ones and the collaboration with LUMENE, SABIC and UPM Adhesive Materials is an excellent example of this,” says Juha Rainio, Sales Director Biofuels at UPM.
Pulp-industry residue does the heavy lifting
How is the renewable, more sustainable, residue- and wood-based raw material produced? The process begins when crude tall oil, a residue of the pulp industry, is used to produce UPM BioVerno™ renewable naphtha. The naphtha is then processed to granulates by SABIC. By applying the mass balance approach, the jar producer creates recyclable jars from certified renewable polypropylene with a reduced environmental impact.
The plastic granulates are also used by film manufacturers as they produce the film for UPM Raflatac Forest Film™ label material made with a minimum of 85% wood-based material. LUMENE also keeps its label release liner waste in the circular economy by diverting it from incineration or landfill through the UPM RafCycle™ service.
“LUMENE took a holistic view of the whole package – utilizing renewable feedstocks in the primary packaging as well as the label and then making use of the RafCycle service. All are critical to the brand experience and integral to the circularity and climate performance of packaging,” adds Carles Anadon, Senior Business Growth Manager at UPM Adhesive Materials.
And the ambitious sustainability efforts at LUMENE continue.
“The new 97% bio-attributed LUMENE cosmetic jar and label is one way to reduce the use of fossil-based plastic. By 2025, our target is to have 80% of our plastic packaging made of recycled plastic or renewable raw materials. We continue to do research and to develop various new packaging material options,” says Essi Arola, Head of R&D, Packaging and Sustainability at LUMENE.
* Mass balance accounting is a well-known approach that has been designed to trace the flow of materials through a complex value chain. The mass balance approach provides a set of rules for how to allocate the bio-based and/or recycled content to different products to be able to claim and market the content as "bio-attributed" or "recycled-based". Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation
