Eco-friendly film enhances fragrance packaging

Packaging Performance excellence is the signature of adidas Moves Pulse fragrance by Coty Inc. The same can be said of the brand's new packaging material made of renewable resource Pentaform TerraPET rigid film, produced by Klöckner Pentaplast, Gordonsville, VA.

Vic Shifflett, the company's thermoforming films product manager says: "We are excited to have Pentaform TerraPET films in our continually growing portfolio of sustainable packaging solutions. It has the identical performance properties and brilliant cosmetic clarity as standard APET films, but up to 30 percent of Pentaform TerraPET film is made from Brazilian sugar cane, a plant-based renewable resource."

This polyester film is the first of its kind to blend plant-based materials and conventional petroleum-based materials. Explaining Coty's move to Pentaform TerraPET film, Jim Bautista, company director of packaging concept development, says:"We want to improve our Green Scorecard. Adidas Moves Pulse fragrance is a newer product rolled out in September 2010, but adidas Moves fragrance ‘for men' was introduced in 1999," he continues, "We have been searching for alternative materials. When our custom thermoformer CMI Plastics told us about Pentaform TerraPET films, we were very interested," adding, "They are a creative partner, constantly bringing to our attention new materials, techniques and methods."

A "drop-in" for APET

Steven Hasselbach is president of CMI Plastics. His grandfather started the company, then known as Consolidated Models, in a Bronx basement circa 1939, making prefabricated model airplane kits. In the 1960s, working with the Apollo Space Program, CMI formed the Lunar Lander Module battery housings, which sit on the moon to this day. Creativity, then, is inherent to the company's DNA. Further evidenced by what comes next:

"We were partnering with Klöckner Pentaplast to test run their newly developed Pentaform TerraPET films last October on a Sencorp in-line thermoforming machine at our new 70,000 square-foot facility in Ayden, NC," Hasselbach says, "The material proved to be a ‘drop-in' for APET, so I thought about the upcoming order we had for Coty's adidas Moves Pulse cologne, their 2011 holiday gift sets for ‘him' and ‘her.' It's a smaller tray, and we already had the existing mold that PET works in-no need for a new package design. That led to the idea that Coty could use the film to advance its green initiative." Previously, the tray was being made from recycled-PET and PVC.

On deck for holiday season

The 2011 holiday gift set that Hasselbach speaks of is a special-value product available beginning September both as adidas Moves Pulse for men ("him") and for women ("her"). The single vacuum-formed blister will contain two bottles, one 1-oz and one 0.5-oz travel-size package, of eau de toilette spray. Each will have recommended resale prices of $15.99, a regular $29.75 value for "him" and $38.75 for "her."

In keeping with Coty's commitment to sustainability, the Mylar outer carton emblazoned with metallic ink has been redesigned in SBS paperboard: bright red for men to reflect the fragrance's warm, spicy, woody cedar notes; bright orange for women to reflect the floral, fruity fragrance that includes a blood orange scent. The iconic adidas three-stripe logo is prominently positioned in the top left corner. Coty and adidas have had a strategic partnership since 1985, appealing to an audience of primarily 18- to 34-year-old men and women who tend to lead active, athletic, demanding lifestyles. The adidas Moves Pulse fragrance is carried mainly by mass retailers such as Walmart, as well as large drug-store chains such as Rite-Aid.

Win-win for environment and Coty

On the other end, Coty has been working with CMI Plastics for more than 10 years. Says Bautista: "We have a true partnership with them. It should be known that CMI Plastics is offsetting the cost of higher-priced Pentaform TerraPET film themselves." When asked why, Hasselbach doesn't hesitate, "Relationships with suppliers are as important as relationships with customers. Klöckner Pentaplast is a vital supplier to us, and they have made a huge investment in developing Pentaform TerraPET film. It's innovative and positive for the environment, so I want to get it into the marketplace."

"The fact that Coty is one of the first companies to use Pentaform TerraPET film on a mass scale is a win-win for everyone," Bautista says. Indeed, CMI's initial TerraPET film order is 70,000 pounds. The first lot of trays shipped to Coty on May 1, 2011. In all, an estimated 75,000 blister trays made of TerraPET film will be used to package adidas Moves Pulse fragrance gift sets this holiday season.

Same recycling stream

Hasselbach's regard for Klöckner Pentaplast is mutual. According to Shifflett, "We have partnered with CMI for years and supply most of their materials. They are extremely innovative, willing to try new and different materials, testing new products for us on their machines giving us critical performance feedback-as they did Pentaform TerraPET film."

About that process, Hasselbach has this to say, "When we test ran it, there was no difference between Pentaform TerraPET film and traditional APET: no change of tooling, no change of heat or timer settings."

Likewise, the new film processes on existing equipment in the same thermoforming range-and trims the same as standard APET. With a heat-deflection temperature of more than 145-deg F, no special handling or logistics are necessary.

APET is a type of polyester film, largely used in packaging for the beauty and cosmetics industries due to its clear, crystalline appearance that appeals to consumers' aspirational goals. "There are also no visible physical differences in brilliance or clarity" between APET and Pentaform TerraPET, Hasselbach adds.

As with standard APET, packages produced with TerraPET film can be marked with SPI resin identification code 1, and waste from thermoforming operations is compatible with existing pre-consumer recycling streams.

That Pentaform TerraPET film is partially made from a renewable resource is in keeping with Coty's efforts for the past five years to reduce its material consumption, and therefore its carbon footprint.

Bautista echoes the company's sustainability policy when he says, "We've been working with CMI to optimize our vacuum form trays through format standardization, reengineering the structure to reduce material weight while still guaranteeing a perfect presentation," adding, "Europe is a big market. For a long time, we'd been looking for a cost-effective alternative that meets European mandates for sustainable packaging-and now we've found it. There is an ease of implementation. We use the same gauge or thickness, and it has the same aesthetic quality."

Coty has decided to use Pentaform TerraPET films in packaging for its entire beauty line of Adidas Moves fragrances, not just Adidas Moves Pulse fragrance gift sets. According to Bautista, that's approximately 700,000 units across seven SKUs.

Proven attraction

"Our hope is that Pentaform TerraPET films will become more attractive for the whole packaging industry," Bautista says.

As the world's leading maker of mass-market fragrances for men and women, with headquarters in New York and Paris and manufacturing facilities in Ashford, U.K.; Granollers, Spain; Chartres, France; Monaco; and Sanford, NC; Coty is making that possibility more likely. And the company is well on its way to improving its sustainability.

Meanwhile, Hasselbach has done his job to help the environment. Bautista says of CMI, "They are a great partner," a compliment Hasselbach passes on to Klöckner Pentaplast: A triple play that has the sweet smell of success.

More information is available:

CMI Plastics, Inc.,
609-558-3027.
www.cmiplastics.com Klöckner Pentaplast,
540-832-1424.
www.kpfilms.com

SencorpWhite,
508-771-9400.
www.sencorpwhite.com