Sustainable cosmetic packaging

Invest in the future: Package your cosmetics sustainably!

Cosmetics are subject to rapid assortment and collection changes, increasing individualisation and high competitive pressures. The market’s attention to sustainability is also on the rise. Future-proof your production now and win over your customers with sustainable cosmetic packaging.

Packaging material

For over 50 years, Schubert has been an ideal partner when it comes to innovative packaging systems and a specialist in cardboard packaging since the very beginning. Our experts design and implement systems for sustainable cosmetic packaging – quickly, flexibly and reliably. Find out how our machines achieve this here.

Go to packaging materials

Packaging optimisation

Is your business all about filling and packaging cosmetics and would you benefit from a discerning expert’s view of your current packaging materials? Schubert can help you develop your own sustainable cosmetic packaging. Read more here.

Go to packaging optimisation

Process optimisation

Optimising processes, staying innovative, reducing costs – these are all key success factors in the production, filling and packaging of cosmetics. Here, we will show you how Schubert can support and advise you in analysing your processes, and highlight the benefits you will capitalise on as a result.

Go to process optimisation

With Schubert, you have the ideal partner at your side – for more sustainability in cosmetic packaging!

Sustainable packaging materials

Rapid product and material changes have become very common in the packaging of cosmetics. So it is all the more important that machines and systems keep pace. Packaging machines from Schubert are modular and flexible in design and can easily process a wide range of packaging materials. These include plastics as well as cardboard packaging or other sustainable materials, such as packaging based on grass or hemp.

Individualisation in terms of labels or customised packaging, which is in particular demand in e-commerce, can be achieved on the same machine without significantly reducing the cycle time. Connecting scanners to your ERP system makes the production and shipping status transparent.

Primary packaging

Cartons, corrugated boxes, bottles or flacons – the certifications for sustainability in packaging are also becoming stricter for cosmetics. Composite materials that are difficult to separate receive significantly lower ratings than mono-materials based on sustainability. Another trend is refillable, high-quality primary packaging such as shampoo bottles or powder compacts. The goal is clearly to reduce synthetics and plastics. Conflicting objectives arises here between consumer wishes for sustainability on the one hand and stable, durable cosmetics packaging on the other. With Schubert, you can confidently tackle these seemingly opposing goals.

Secondary packaging

In bulk packaging for transport to the retail shelf, secondary packaging provides the perfect protection. Here in particular, sustainable cardboard packaging is ideal for protecting your products from damage or staining. When it comes to packaging development for paperboard packaging, you are always at least one step ahead with Schubert. We thoroughly examine your process, replace conventional packaging with sustainable packaging and optimise packaging sizes. This saves you material, space and fillers.

Versatile in use: cardboard packaging made from sustainable raw materials

Cardboard is an extremely sustainable packaging material as a result of its highly successful and productive recycling. Whether traditional basic materials such as paper and cellulose or new materials such as grass or hemp – at Schubert we have specialised in cardboard packaging for over 50 years. With resource-saving sleeves, a wide variety of carton shapes or shipping boxes in wrap-around or RSC style, you save valuable raw materials and process costs. At Schubert, it is very important to us that you are the one making the decisions about your cosmetics packaging – not the limitations imposed by your machines. This is why our cartoners and casepackers work just as flexibly as they do carefully, quickly and efficiently. Even special requirements such as adhesive-free folding boxes or high-quality surfaces with special finishes are not a problem for our robot-based technology.

RSC boxes

These cardboard boxes are the perfect choice if you want to fill and pack with high performance. With special algorithms to optimise the packing density, you save space and filling material while reducing your CO2 footprint.

Tray with cover

This combination is not only suitable for transport, but also offers high efficiency for retail, combined with an attractive appearance. The cover, which is connected to the tray, is detached at a few gluing points and removed from the tray. What remains is an attractive sales tray that presents the products perfectly without unsightly perforated edges.

Wrap-around boxes

The wrap-around box secures your cosmetic products against slipping during transport. It is especially suitable for tubes, flacons or bottles.

Reusable containers

Plastic is often unfairly stigmatised. In fact, when used correctly and sensibly recycled or used as reusable packaging, plastic packaging can also be sustainable. Especially for highly complex trade logistics and in e-commerce, as well as for personalised products, this can reduce the use of cartons and films.

Cartoners and casepackers

Packaging without limits: With Schubert’s flexible cartoners and casepackers, you are ideally positioned to package your cosmetic products sustainably. Precise robot technology, tools that are gentle on the product and simple format changes between a wide range of packaging materials ensure that your production is ready to meet consumer demands and accompany you into a more sustainable future.

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Filling bottles and jars – with modern plastics or glass

With Schubert, you can make your secondary packaging processes more sustainable – but we also take care of the resource-saving filling of powdery or liquid products into bottles and jars. With Schubert systems, this works not only with conventional solid plastic containers, but also with thin-walled, soft monoplastics or recyclable glass.

We feed the containers to the filling station via pick & place instead of in bulk, integrated into the packaging line: Individually designed robotic tools pick the containers directly from the conveyor and place them reliably and gently into the filling station feed. With our exact dosing – even for very small quantities and accurate to the millilitre – your valuable cosmetics are not wasted in the packaging process, and you save resources and costs.

Our cosmetic packaging systems’ machine concept enables you to map the entire packaging process – from the feeding of individual product components through the filling and sealing of the primary packaging to the finished transport packaging – in a fully automated, controlled and highly efficient manner in a single line. This brings manufacturers a big step closer to their sustainable packaging for cosmetics.

More sustainability through packaging optimisation

Are you already using sustainable packaging materials such as cardboard? Here too, there is often potential for optimisation. In addition to the pure use of sustainable materials, there are many other options to ensure more sustainability in your packaging.

With Schubert, you have exactly the right partner at your side. Our industry and process expertise provides you with a critical and objective view of your processes and sequences from the outside. With our implementation expertise, we not only develop solutions, but can also bring them to life directly and without interruptions.

For example, material thickness and machine runnability are often the limiting factors for reducing packaging material. With systems from Schubert, you gain a significant advantage here: Thanks to careful processes and individualised tools, we can also work with very thin or soft packaging without any problems. A closer look at formats often reveals similarly significant development opportunities. More economical blanks, thinner materials and optimised pack densities ensure a measurable increase in the sustainability of your processes.

We can support you in bringing the aspect of friendly and sustainable cosmetic packaging to the foreground in a variety of ways – right up to the point of sale.

The right material

In response to and in anticipation of new legislation, various point and rating systems have already been established in both industry and the recycling sector that go beyond simple quality seals. Here, packaging made of non-separable composite materials is at a clear disadvantage, because they cannot be recycled. Mono-materials made of plastics or cardboard, on the other hand, have a clear advantage and achieve high rating levels. Furthermore, plastics can very often be entirely replaced by cardboard.

The right parameters

The right packaging concept is essential to ensure machine runnability. In addition to the number of blanks in the machine magazine, material thickness, stability and the erecting process also have to be considered. Our expert packaging development team keeps an eye on all the important parameters and can draw on a wealth of experience from many projects in which even challenging processes have been successfully implemented.

The right cut

Optimised product arrangement in secondary packaging and less material waste thanks to improved cuts – such as the economy cut for high boxes: With our innovative robot technology, material can be saved on virtually any packaging. Even with plastics, the highly precise packaging robots can always gain a few extra millimetres, which add up to significant savings.

Packaging development as a chance

Schubert’s in-house packaging development supports you in switching to more efficient packaging and therefore in producing more sustainably.

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Sustainability through process optimisation

When filling and packaging cosmetics, the packaging material is not the only decisive factor – the process itself also offers great opportunities for optimisation. Significant savings can be achieved using a holistic approach that addresses everything from reducing rejects to improving reliability– for higher productivity, lower costs and more sustainability.

Even thin or soft plastics are no problem for our systems: This begins with gentle feeding using the pick & place process and ends with secure final packaging for shipping. We have set all-new standards in process integration. From component feeding via cobots to filling and shipping packaging, all individual processes run in a single seamless system. Long transport distances such as conveyor belts between the individual machines and differences in cycle times are a thing of the past. The modular design of the TLM machines and the use of the Transmodul ensure greater sustainability not only for cosmetic packaging, but also for the entire filling and packaging process.

Packaging without interfaces thanks to the Transmodul

With our Transmodul, seamless processes from component feeding to final packaging can be achieved in one system. The intelligent transport robot keeps your products in a defined and monitored state throughout the entire process. 3D-printed holders that are precisely adapted to your needs ensure safe and damage-free packaging handling.

Automated feeding with cobots

More automation usually translates into more efficiency and greater sustainability. With our cobots, cosmetic manufacturers extend their automation to the area in front of the packaging machine: The cooperative robots pick up lightweight products or product components very quickly using pick & place and feed them to the packaging machine at a high process speed. The Schubert cobots can be operated without any additional programming knowledge or robotics know-how and, thanks to their integrated AI (artificial intelligence) and mobile design, they can be taught to perform new tasks again and again.

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Reliable high-quality packaging processes

High-quality cosmetics also need to be packaged to a high standard. Our top-loading lines’ seamless, reliable packaging processes guarantee cosmetic manufacturers the highest quality while reducing packaging material consumption to a minimum. Integrated filling processes including multi-stage quality controls, controlled down to the millilitre, ensure optimum raw material utilisation. And with optimised, recyclable packaging, your cosmetic packaging becomes even more sustainable.

Fast format changes with 3D printing

If you rely on machines and systems from Schubert when filling and packaging cosmetics, frequent format changes do not represent a major challenge. Our robot-assisted packaging machines are equipped with 3D-printed format parts that can be changed quickly and easily. If you print any required change parts or entirely new format sets in your own manufacturing facility using a PARTBOX printer and the PARTBOX streaming platform from Schubert Additive Solutions, you not only shorten your time-to-market, you also reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating transport routes.

Competitive advantages for manufacturers and contract packers

For manufacturers as well as contract fillers and contract packers, the sustainably optimised packaging processes achieved by a Schubert machine result in significant competitive advantages:

  • Quick and easy format changes for shorter time-to-market
  • Reduced investment in equipment due to maximum integration
  • In-house 3D printing of format parts and robot tools makes you independent, protects the environment and saves time and money
  • Algorithms for optimising packing density and high-precision robots save space, emissions and transport costs
  • A high degree of automation saves on personnel costs and makes the company less dependent on skilled worker shortages
  • Secure and reliable processes minimise rejects and packaging material consumption
  • High machine availability avoids unplanned downtime
  • Space-saving installations reduce the need for building and land area, and result in lower energy, heating and operating costs

Schubert-Consulting – an entirely new approach to sustainability

Thinking holistically, analysing process chains, harnessing digitalisation: Almost every machine or line can be equipped with ultra-modern technology. The precise recording and evaluation of a wide range of process parameters with modern algorithms offer in-depth insights into your processes and reveal potential for optimisation.

With international and cross-industry expertise, our consultants also analyse your process across the entire value chain. Schubert-Consulting’s holistic approach does not just focus on consulting. Everything we develop and recommend, we can also implement – with minimal impact on your ongoing processes.

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Contact

Find out now about sustainable packaging solutions for your cosmetic products!

Let our expert advise you in person:
Daniel Traub, Global Key Account Manager
Phone: +49 7951 400 – 480
E-Mail: D.Traub@gerhard-schubert.de