French cosmetics packaging producer Qualiform (Certina Packaging Group) has launched a line of bottles integrating Eastman’s Cristal Renew copolyester that is said to offer high levels of recycled content without compromising on performance or aesthetics.
Targeting prestige brands, the line features bottles made from Cristal Renew grades EB062-50 and EN076-50, both with 50% certified recycled content. Qualiform is the first company to integrate the material into its products, and offers Cristal Renew for all standard and customized PET or PETG bottles.
Qualiform CEO Stéphane Perrollier said that no retooling or requalification was necessary in making the switch from Eastman’s traditional copolyesters.
Eastman’s Cristal Renew standard portfolio is available with 30% and 50% recycled content, and the company says it is possible to achieve up to 100% certified recycled content.
The copolyesters are chemically identical to virgin material and are produced using molecular recycling. Luxe Packaging Insight spoke to Glenn Goldman, Eastman Commercial Director for Specialty Plastics, this summer about the process. “Molecular recycling is so called because the waste plastic is “unzipped” or converted back into its molecular form and then rebuilt into the polymers that eventually become packaging or other items,” he explained. “The technology allows us to offer high levels of certified recycled content; we divert waste that would otherwise go to landfill.
The raw material supplier’s portfolio offers various options for cosmetics packaging. Cristal EB Renew is a high-performance, resistant PCTG and is said to provide excellent clarity and gloss for extrusion blow-molded bottles, while Cristal EN Renew is suitable for thinner-walled packs. A modified PET, it is designed for improved “flowability” to prevent haze (a lack of clarity in transparent materials), says Eastman. Cristal EV Renew, meanwhile, offers glasslike feel and weight, making it a good fit for thick-walled jars and perfume caps.
