Natural packaging diversity

An unpackaged cosmetics product is without doubt the gold standard to avoid packaging materials. The trend of unpackaged products has been growing for some years now, and we too try to sell our products unpackaged where possible. Unfortunately, this is only possible in very rare cases. For solid products, like our bars of soap, we already offer many products unpackaged. These soaps are sold “naked” in store without any additional packaging in the form of boxes, banderoles or cellulose films, making them particularly sustainable.

A label on the bottom of the soap contains all information that is subject to declaration (such as the ingredients). For liquid products such as our shower gels, shampoos or deodorants, it is not so easy to do without the packaging. They require what is know as primary packaging. In package-free shops, that is the dispensers used to fill up from. In our range it refers to the tubes, bottles or 5L refill canisters for refilling at home. Here is an overview of all products in canister size.

The use of certain raw materials as well as the type of manufacturing often do not allow us to simply turn a liquid product into a solid one. In this respect it is often not possible to do away with primary packaging.

Disposal: Remove the label on the base of the soap before use and dispose of it in the residual waste bin.

Glass can always be recycled when it is disposed of in the glass bins. As such it often seems to be a preferable alternative to plastic, at least at first glance. However, if you look at the total CO2 balance, this is not necessarily the case – because the manufacture of glass involves extremely high CO2 emissions: glass is comparatively heavy, must be packaged very securely for delivery and requires high transport costs.

Additionally, having glass products in the bathroom is also a safety risk – no one wants to deal with glass shards in the shower, sink or on the floor. And some products simply cannot be made in glass, such as deodorant sticks.

As such, we only use glass with great caution – glass is primarily used in products such as our deodorant sprays, fragrances and some shaving products.

Disposal: Separate the glass from the spray head/lid. Dispose of the glass in the waste glass. Dispose of the spray head in residual waste. Dispose of the spray lid in the recycling waste.

The use of plastic packaging is the subject of controversial debate. Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine particularly cosmetics without plastic packaging. It offers optimum product protection and is significantly lighter compared to glass packaging. Additionally, plastic packaging does not break when, for example, it falls on the bathroom floor, thus posing no safety risk. Due to its low weight, also with regards to the topic of transport, as well as lower processing temperatures, plastic packaging has a significantly lower CO2 footprint compared to glass packaging. We use various types of plastics:

Recyclate: In Germany, the Dual Systems ensure that plastic packaging—if correctly disposed of by consumers in the yellow bag or yellow bin—is sorted and usually recycled. This is referred to as post-consumer recycled material (PCR). These recyclates can be used in new products. By avoiding the use of virgin plastics, valuable resources can be conserved, and plastics can be kept in the cycle long-term, with the number of recycling cycles depending on the purity of the material and the properties of the plastic.

The recycled material used in our PET packaging comes from the single-use beverage packaging cycle and is therefore suitable for use in food and cosmetics packaging. Since 2020, our liquid soap bottles have been made from 100% recycled PET (rPET). In 2024, this saved us approx. 857kg* of fossil-based virgin plastic. However, PP and PE recyclates from household collection (yellow bin/yellow bag) pose a challenge. Extensive, costly tests are necessary to ensure that no unwanted substances migrate from the packaging into our products. Therefore, we are working together with our partners to find solutions for also using recycled materials in our packaging for these types of plastics in the future.

Part of our PE labels, which do not come into direct contact with our products, is made of 50% PCR content in the PE film.

Another option to avoid using virgin plastics is described under the link types of packaging „Reusable deposit system“.

Biobased polyethylene (PE): Since 2016, we have been using biobased PE, also known as Bio PE, made from the renewable raw material sugarcane. The material is identical to fossil-based PE, meaning it has the same chemical and mechanical properties. According to the manufacturer, Bio PE produces approximately 4 kg less CO2 per kg of plastics during production compared to conventional PE. This is because the sugarcane itself helps bind CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. The sugar cane plant parts remaining after PE production are used to generate electricity. All our tubes, as well as the bottles of Speick shower gels and body lotions, contain between 88% and 97% Bio PE**, depending on the packaging type.

The packaging is biobased and recyclable but not biodegradable and must be disposed of in the yellow bag/yellow bin. This way, they are also returned to the material cycle.

Polypropylene (PP): When choosing materials, we aim to use as little material as possible to save resources and reduce the weight of our packaging. For our shaving soap jar and for most of the closures of our tube and bottle products, we use pure polypropylene (PP), which is a stronger material than, for example, PE. PP can also be returned to the material cycle as a mono material through disposal in the yellow bag/yellow bin.

Disposal: Packaging made from plastics (recyclates) is disposed of in the yellow bin/yellow bag. Ideally, closures, pumps and bottles should be separated from each other.

* Based on the sales volume in 2024

** Calculation of the Bio PE content for tubes without cap, for bottles without label

Packaging has to unite a lot of functions and should – for us – be as ecologically friendly as possible. For some products, especially liquid or paste products, this is not always easy and not always obvious.

A large part of our range is packaged in BIO PE. However, for some products - such as our Speick Thermal Sensitiv face creams - the use of aluminum tubes is more suitable. Why? Aluminum tubes are impermeable to air and therefore oxygen and thus protect sensitive products from spoilage. In addition, aluminum can be fully recycled indefinitely and without loss of quality and is also lightweight.

Disposal: Dispose of in recycling waste.

Many products in our range are packaged in cardboard packaging, boxes or displays. The minimum standard here is FSC certification for the paper used and a certain percentage of recycled cardboard. FSC stands for “Forest Stewardship Council” and is an international certification system for forest management. The principles of this system are valid worldwide and guarantee that wood and paper products with the FSC seal are sourced from responsibly managed forests.

Some paper products, such as the folding box of our “Für Dich” gift soap, also contain recycled paper. By the way, all of our business documents such as invoices and printer/copier paper are made of FSC-certified and/or recycled materials.

Disposal: Dispose of in the paper recycling.