Among the many options available to reduce the environmental footprint of luxury perfumes and cosmetics packaging, reducing the amount of materials used is often one of the first actions to be implemented. In the case of a heavy material such as glass, the benefits are immediate.
A score ranging from A+ to F
To facilitate decisions in this area as soon as the design and conception phases start, Verescence launches Glass Score, a tool helping to evaluate the level of weight reduction of glass vials, without the influence of the container size.
The rating system assigns a score ranging from A+ (the most lightweight) to F for each bottle, enabling brands to compare their products on a universal scale and develop new glass weight-reduction projects.
According to the French glass maker, the average score of perfume and cosmetic bottles on the market is between B and C. The new tool will help to guide brands towards a more virtuous Glass Score rating by proposing realistic weight reduction goals that respect the initial design of the project.
"Glass Score is a simple and effective tool that allows us to understand the level of weight reduction of a glass bottle or jar, propose weight reduction solutions and help our customers make informed choices in eco-design. This initiative has already generated great interest from our main customers,” says Samuel Joachim, Director of Innovation and Development at Verescence.
The launch of Glass Score is part of Verescence’s "Glass As a Service" program, which aims to offer a complete range of eco-design services to its customers since 2017, including Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), recyclability study and 3D modelling.
Lightweight glass bottles with complex shapes
At the beginning of the year during the Paris Packaging Week show, Verescence has unveiled, in collaboration with French designer De Baschmakoff, two fragrance bottles illustrating their technical expertise in using lightweight glass for complex shapes.
With an organic shape featuring an off-centre screw neck, the Moon bottle (106 g for 100 ml) offered a perfect symmetry of its faces for a comfortable grip. For its part, the Gem bottle (97 g for 100 ml) had a geometrical design with sharp angles and a broad octagonal facing.
To make them even more sustainable, these refillable bottles (SNI 15 screw necks) were personalized with a spherical mono-material LegnaPin cap made by premium wood component manufacturer Minelli Spa (mPackting).
Lightweighting (reducing the amount of material used) is usually presented as the first step in packaging sustainability, along with recycling and reuse.
