Weener Plastics has announced that it is supplying recycled PET (rPET) bottles to Japanese chemical and cosmetic company Kao for its hair care brand, Guhl, to meet the sustainability goals.
Image: Weener Plastics provides rPET bottles for Kao's hair care brand. Photo: Courtesy of Weener.
“Sustainability is the most important topic in the plastics industry. Brand owners and plastic packaging manufacturers are eager to reduce the environmental footprint of plastic packaging. Kao has great ambitions in this area,” Weener Plastics said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Kao re-launched the packaging of Guhl shampoo bottles, which are now made of 50% rPET.
Weener Plastics has been supplying Guhl bottles for several years and was requested by Kao request to provide a more environmentally friendly bottle.
Leveraging its experience in the area of using recycled plastics to manufacture plastic packaging components, Weener Plastics said that its team managed to find the right type of rPET that meets all of the mechanical and esthetical specifications, including high transparency of the bottle.
According to Kao, the new eco-friendly bottles saves more than 770 tons of CO2, more than 520,000liters of water and 180tons of PET each year.
Kao EURL packaging development team leader Daniel Nebe said: “We wanted to use the highest possible percentage of rPET without having to accept inclusions or color distortions.
“Extensive tests delivered excellent results, which convinced Kao to market this new sustainable package. The next step is to start making the Guhl flip-top closure also produced by WP from PCR material.”
As part of its corporate strategy, Weener Plastics has appointed a dedicated materials team to continuously expand knowledge on post-consumer materials, such as rPET and recycled PP and PE.
Based in Ede, The Netherlands, Weener Plastics is a supplier of innovative plastic packaging solutions, with a focus on the functionalities dispensing, containing and closing.
The firm designs, develops and manufactures added value caps, closures, roll-on balls, jars and bottles for the personal care, food & beverage and home care markets.
The company employs nearly 4,600 people and has 28 facilities in 18 countries across the world.