Market Overview

The Cosmetics and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors share the spotlight from “Activated” consumers that are driving brands and manufacturers, along with retailers, to incorporate sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility into their organizations, operations and products. As two significant and highly consumer-facing market segments, organizations involved in Cosmetics and FMCG face pressures to improve sustainable sourcing, increase use of post-consumer plastic materials, re-think and re-design single use packaging, and to take responsibility for their products at end-of-use, etc.

Market Challenge

FMCG and Cosmetic brands heavily rely on packaging visualization to competitively differentiate themselves on the shelf. Historically, these brands had the luxury of selecting packaging materials that not only satisfied visualization differentiation, but also created packaging that accommodated shelf life requirements. Ultimately, this created an incentive to use virgin plastic raw materials along with layered multi material packaging that allowed manufacturers of FMCG and Cosmetics the greatest level of flexibility in package design.

Considering the use of post-consumer resins introduces a higher level of operational complexity as its properties are more variable than virgin resins. This operational complexity holds the potential to increase the cost of production and with it, the price of the finished product. However, the pace of changes in consumer spending dynamics, with a focus on sustainability in their decision-making, are challenging FMCG and Cosmetic companies to re-design their business models. It is becoming increasingly critical for companies to re-design their organizations away from the old linear take-make-waste mindset focused on cost and profit margin, to a more circular focused model that maintains focus on corporate social purpose and treats plastic waste as a value-retaining raw material.

GFG Circular Economy Solutions

With over 30 years of plastics Circular Economy and Sustainability expertise, GearedforGreen is well positioned to assist FMCG and Cosmetic companies overcome the challenges of the current market environment.

A Circular Economy, by definition, is connected, collaborative and transparent. Therefore, creating and effective circular economy requires significant collaboration among all key stakeholders that are both internal to your organization and operations and external in your expansive supply chain. This breadth of internal and external execution, and the numerous products and supply chain partners this involves, can often be a paralyzing roadblock to initiating an effective Circular Economy strategy as there is no cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all strategy that can be taken off the shelf and put in practice.

GearedforGreen, in collaboration with other key members of the GreenPack Alliance, focuses primarily on manufacturers and brands in the FMCG and Cosmetics space to bring sustainability solutions to their business. This focused, collaborative effort can be helpful in the development, execution and implementation of your Circular Economy and Sustainability strategy via a variety of sustainability channels, such as:

• Optimizing packaging design (primary, secondary) to reduce raw material usage
• Assisting in raw material selection to ensure end-of-life recyclability of product packaging
• Incorporating post-consumer resin content into packaging and products
• Providing chain of custody and post-consumer resin traceability
• Securing the balanced supply of post-consumer sustainable raw materials
• Incorporating sustainability and recyclability messaging
• Social Sustainability Partnerships and impact on brand/product awareness
• Verifying sustainability measures taken to meet and/or exceed sustainability compliance criteria of many retailers and mass merchandisers
• Embracing product visualization distinctions as a “badge of sustainability”

We can help FMCG and Cosmetic companies embrace Circular Economy concepts, embed them into the organizational and operational culture to recognize the positive, long-term strategic impact they present for overall Business Strategy, Sales Development and Organizational Development.

Essential Elements

GearedforGreen Circular Economy® fully implements collaborative and transparent Circular Economy Partnerships to create strategic, long-term and committed sustainability solutions for FMCG and Cosmetics companies via:

• Optimizing packaging design
• Complete, verifiable and transparent chain of custody of post-consumer sustainable raw materials
• De-risking current end-of-life recycling challenges
• Creating a stable, strategic supply and demand balance to secure the supply of sustainable raw materials for brands seeking to incorporate “recycled content” into their products
• Drive social sustainability awareness and strengthen relationships among manufacturers, brands, retailers and “activated” consumers.