Our Packaging Story

Early in the brand development for Allswell Goods we had an unexpected packaging decision that impacted our direction immediately and immensely.

We were in the process of developing our first round formula and were beginning to look for packaging options. We had identified the need for any plastic we used to be of ocean recycled content in order to align with our brand values. We assumed that anything brought forward would itself be recyclable.

We were pretty excited when we found a soft tube made from recycled ocean plastics that we could use. I remember saying “Awesome, now we have this made of ocean plastic that we can recycle at curbside!”

My more experienced partners looked at each other with a bit of doubt in their eyes, and then back to me. They explained that there was no such thing as a recyclable soft plastic (see page 2, paragraph 2, sentence 2 for industry confirmation of this fact).

This tube was going to be incinerated or goto a landfill, no amount of “wishcycling” was going to change that. That was a bit of a clarity moment for me. I had thrown these tubes into recycling for years assuming they were being recycled with the milk jugs and water bottles.

Turns out I was wrong.

That’s when we decided that a more meaningful change was going to be needed to help address the plastic crisis.

Going with aluminum was our solution and let’s get to the reasons why.

#1 Plastic Recycling is a Mess

We recycle about 10% plastic waste in the United States with a staggering 77% ending up in the environment or landfilled.

The system of plastic recycling is broken and is not addressing the issue. It can work for rigid plastics, those ranked with classification 1 or 2, at least in most areas. But the other classifications of 3-7 have inconsistent or non-existent recyclability; again depending on your area.

The plastics industry has created so many variations that recycling them all efficiently enough to stay profitable as a business is very challenging. Most recyclers just end up focusing on the “rigid plastics” because that is where they can make the most money with the least effort.

Then there are the “soft plastics”, otherwise known as “lotion tubes”, which are not recyclable at all and never have been. You may or may not see a recycling classification stamp on these. If so they will likely use language that directs you to contact your local recycler to confirm whether they can take them, which the manufacturers know will not be possible in the vast majority of cases.

#2 Aluminum Recycling is Efficient

Aluminum recycling on the other hand is pretty straight forward. It is one material that you can melt and reform an infinite amount of times without any degradation in quality. Production of the new recycled material uses 95% less energy than the production of new material.

This makes it so much less complicated to recycle and reuse that over 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today!

In the United States we presently recycle about 50% of aluminum cans which is far lower than the rest of the world. But we are way further along the path to waste circularity with aluminum than with plastic. In Germany they already recycle 90% of their aluminum which would be a great target for us to shoot for!

#3 Aluminum is Lightweight & Durable

While admittedly heavier than plastic aluminum is still about a third the weight of equivalent steel products. This helps to mitigate transport related carbon emissions and shipping costs.

It is also durable enough to hold up over time in a wide variety of conditions. You do not have to worry about crushing it or having it degrade with exposure to the elements. It is also rust resistant, which is nice if you are in and around the salt water like us!

#4 Aluminum Preserves the Product

Aluminum is well known for its exceptional ability to protect contents from air, moisture and light. This is particularly crucial for sunscreen, where maintaining the integrity of active ingredients is crucial. Additionally it also prevents any of the oils and waxes we use in our formulation to seep out through the packaging, as is sometimes the case with paper packaging.

Summing Up

We chose to go with aluminum because we felt it to be the environmentally superior choice, offering both sustainability and performance benefits. We understand it is not a perfect material as it is mined, but we felt that any initial production drawbacks were offset by the recycling circularity advantages.

We hope you agree and will join us because when it comes to protecting your skin and the environment, every choice matters!

Top 4 Reasons for Aluminum vs. Plastic Packaging