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Plastic Closures

Today's caps and closures play a much greater role in packaging than just looking spiffy and functioning faultlessly. But when it comes to sustainability, it may not be such an open-and-shut case.

Closures take on many forms in the beauty business. A sun care brand may select a trigger sprayer to top its SPF formula. Shampoo is often squeezed through a plastic dispensing closure. And glass—or glass-like—stoppers might crown a luxurious bottle of fragrance. All of these examples are closures, and although the look of a closure varies from product to product, its purpose does not.

A cap or closure is an essential element in the overall package aesthetics and functionality, The consumer expects a closure that is easy to use and tightly sealed, but at the same time, consumers want a closure that looks elegant.

While functionality is of vital importance for a closure and for a consumer's continued loyalty to the product, good looks are equally noteworthy. Today's best closures not only perform as expected, they also draw the consumer in by adhering to brand image and appealing to a customer's sense of style.

Plastic Is Tops

Across a number of beauty segments, plastic accounts for the majority of closures in the U.S. marketplace today.

Market research firm Euromonitor reveals dominant usage of plastic screw closures, plastic overcaps and plastic dispensing closures over alternate metal and glass counterparts. For example, the market research company forecasts that plastic closures will post 340.8 million units in retail/off-trade unit volume this year within the skin care segment, while metal will only capture 21.3 million units in the same segment. The result within the skin care segment is indicative of the rest of the market, with plastic closures also dominating within the sun care, oral care, men's grooming, hair care, deodorants, color cosmetics and bath and shower markets.

As the culture forges ahead with concerns for eco-friendliness and sustainability, what will this do to plastic closures in the future? Within the last decade, a lot of talk has centered on biopolymers, plant-based plastics that can be composted. Has this talk translated into compostable closures? "No," says Michael Salemi, COO, The Packaging Company. Demand was so small for plant-based PLA, he says, that his resin supplier is now out of business.

Despite advancements in sustainable packaging technologies, there are still a number of brands leery of making the switch to dramatically pro-environment closures. HCT Packaging, like other suppliers, has looked into using "only recycled materials, having separable parts if a package is made of different materials," and has done "extensive testing with the latest biodegradable resins," says Adrian Apodaca, senior design engineer HCT CA.

The demand has not always followed. In the current marketplace, HCT Packaging has found that "until we see a universal acceptance at the consumer level of the comparative lack of aesthetic quality that comes from a minimized/sustainable packaging design, there will always be a customer base in our industry that will still indulge in the more environmentally harmful decorative techniques as they are still desirous of this luxe look," adds Apodaca.

The sustainability mindset has not strongly infiltrated beauty cap design and construction, agrees Jeffrey Hayet, executive vice president of global sales at World Wide Packaging (WWP). "We believe in the importance of sustainable packaging, as we certainly have the ability and knowledge to execute sustainable packaging. However, many corporations/companies don't mandate it. Surprisingly, a lot of our customers don't even ask for it."

While many brands aren't willing to embrace the full sustainable packaging experience, when it comes to caps, brands can make smaller concessions toward the environment that don't hurt looks—and more important—the bottom line.

Plastic Alternatives

While plastic materials still account for the bulk of closures within the marketplace today, other materials are enjoying increased popularity.

"Using metal closures instead of plastic is a great way to make your jar or bottle product look and feel more upscale at a small cost," says Hou. "We find that many of our customers are interested in accenting their jar products with our metal closures to enhance the overall package appearance."

Cospack America developed the closure and jar for Juicy Couture's new Couture Couture Body Cream. The company customized a stock Prairie closure, manipulating the surface of the metal overshell with a proprietary embossment procedure. The procedure highlighted the brand logo in a three-dimensional design with upscale, stylish results.

Capitalizing further on the desire for metal closures, Cospack America also recently announced the launch of its new stock metal jar closure line called HP Prairie. The double-wall closure utilizes a high-profile design, and is available in 48/400, 53/400, 58/400 and 70/400mm sizes.

Metal closures add immediate style to a package, as demonstrated by these airless packages from WWP. Another excellent example of a metal cap's appeal is the multi-part, heavily decorated closure for Lighthouse Beauty's Power by 50 Cent fragrance. Designed and manufactured by Maesa Group, the fragrance cap's crowning jewel is a coin, created through a multi-layered process employing several finishing techniques, including embossing, polishing and acid etching.

"It is a mixture of classic elements, such as columns and hexagonal bolts, which represent strength, and most important, power. Both of these features make up the main elements of the cap," explains Scott Oshry, executive vice president of branding and design for Maesa Studio.

In addition to visual prompts, environmental reasons are also a factor. "We've been looking into a lot of alternatives from traditional plastics. For instance, bamboo is becoming more and more popular because it's more sustainable than plastic. We've also been using a lot of recycled aluminum to develop our closures," says Hayet of WWP.

Design and Decorations

Not surprisingly, closure decorations are also capitalizing on the increased concern over the environment, whether or not the package is eco-friendly. "Many brands are trying to convey an earthy color," says Salemi, "I see a lot of colors that you'd typically see in the spring—greens, creams, etc.—all portraying HCT's lid for Sephora's TokiDoki lipgloss uses confetti and stickers. the earthy, organic look."

For simple caps and closures, Maesa has been utilizing hydrographics, a water transfer printing method used on 3D objects. "We are not sure if the industry will follow, but it has allowed us to decorate otherwise fairly simple caps and make them highly unique without adding more components, which takes us back to creating closures that have more sustainability, yet are still exciting," says Kestenbaum.

In a paradoxical trend, decorations and design are also increasingly complex. "Unique designs and convenience features continue to lead the way of innovative packaging," explains Marshall of Rexam. He notices demand for "multi-material options such as a PP closure with soft-touch highlights to enhance shelf presence and improve consumer convenience."

Function Is Key

Finally, and equally important, is acknowledgement of a closure's very important role as "gatekeeper." This role has mandated controlled dosing in some of the more medically oriented beauty sectors. A closure that delivers only the recommended amount of product offers "consumers a convenient, effective, no-mess solution," says Hayet.

The industry has also seen the introduction of smart caps, with ability to monitor product expiration or provide other benefits. "Now that the public is demanding, rightfully, that their products come without preservatives or other alien chemical additions, we will need to react as a packaging industry to adapt our components to meet the new needs of these natural formulae. Expiration markers are only the beginning," says Apodaca.

A closure's functionality is not achieved without effort. Hayet advises performing "due diligence to ensure that the orifice is built in a way that correctly dispenses the product, so that the product can effectively do what it is designed to do."

One way to ensure leak-proof results is to source caps from the same company supplying the bottle, says Salemi. "They are going to match the bottle tooling with the cap," he adds. The effort can mean the difference between success and business disaster. "I see time and time again companies that fail to do an adequate compatibility test of their package and closures. As the organic, all-natural demand grows, it raises issues of compatibility when a brand uses organic oils and natural essence oils. That small percentage of essential oils can wreak havoc on the product’s launch into the market. The closures must be able to deal with the ever-changing organic industries."

No matter how beautiful the cap, re-purchase may hinge more directly on functionality. As Apodaca warns, "A cap can be a great aesthetic aid to a package's look, but it unfortunately only really gets noticed by the end user if something goes awry."