Aluminum Packaging Is Trending in Beauty Right Now. Is It Really Better Than Plastic?

MATERIAL WORLDAluminum Packaging Is Trending in Beauty Right Now. Is It Really Better Than Plastic?The metal is supposed to be "infinitely recyclable." We investigate.

By Katie Becker

May 20, 2022

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Any beauty editor with a conscience has learned that with the thrill of nearly limitless free beauty testers (yes, hundreds of products can land on our desks every month) comes a constant underlying hum of guilt. Despite industry improvements, most of the products I receive — outer boxes, bottles, and tubes — are difficult if not impossible to recycle. And "compostable" is nearly unheard of. When I do my quarterly purge of all the half-used testers in my home office, the mountain of garbage versus the molehill of recycling leaves me thinking about penance more than product reviews.

So when the much-anticipated launch of JVN Hair landed in my apartment, it confirmed a trend I've been clocking for the last few years: Aluminum packaging is the new dress code for "green beauty." At first, I saw it as more of an Instagram trend with shelfie favorites like Summer Fridays, Aesop, and Buly 1803 garnering near-guaranteed likes. It doesn't even matter if the fresh, smooth aluminum is untouched or completely crinkled into an empty — the crisp metal satisfies a visual ASMR, perfect for the age of the double-tap. But aluminum packaging also comes with pretty significant environmental claims.

"Without a doubt, aluminum is a growing trend," says packaging engineer Chris Wightman, who has worked in the field for 20 years and says the recent wave of brands asking for "sustainable" packaging is the most serious he's seen the industry. "I think the savvy consumer is really pushing the brands so it's a more effective marketing edge, plus the consumer is more willing to pay for it."

As I received new aluminum-clad launches such as the Everist concentrated shampoos and conditioners, REN's new sample tube program, a budding Bay Area brand called The Rebrand, tubes of cream shadow from RMS Beauty, Le Prunier sunscreen, the reusable Dove deodorant chassis, Harry Styles's new Pleasing Hand & Nail Balm, and Dieux Instant Angel moisturizer, complete with a squeeze key and aluminum explainer, I also found myself under an avalanche of stats about "infinitely recyclable" aluminum. 

The rate of recycling for aluminum is about 35 percent in the U.S. compared to about 9 percent for plastic.

The metal is attractive mostly because it easily recycles into new uses without degrading the material (most plastics can only be recycled once or twice) making it valuable to for-profit recycling facilities. The rate of recycling for aluminum is about 35 percent in the U.S. compared to about 9 percent for plastic, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Verity, an aluminum and stainless steel packaging company, states that aluminum is seven times more likely to be recycled than plastic. According to the World Economic Forum, aluminum can "be a building block" in a global transition to a circular economy that uses more recycled materials.

"There's a lot of incentive to collect aluminum because it's high value and there's a ready market for it," says Matt Meenan, spokesperson for The Aluminum Association. "Packaging that's strictly aluminum is going to increase the likelihood the packaging is going to get recycled." According to the International Aluminum Institute, nearly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today globally. (I found this is a beloved and oft-quoted statistic.)

The sorting machines, which use a sort of magnet in reverse to eject the metal, can help separate aluminum packaging of many sizes, and cleaning methods are often able to handle leftover residues and most paints. "Even if it still has a cap or isn't perfectly washed, aluminum is probably still going to make it through," explains Thomas Outerbridge who has been working in recycling since the 1980s and is the president of Sims Municipal Recycling, which handles recyclables for New York City and the greater area. Even small metal pieces under three inches are generally able to be recovered, he says, which often isn't possible with plastics of that size.

"I love glass as a non-plastic packaging option, but it's a liability in a bathroom where it can crack and break," says Alexandra Keating, founder of Uni, a new, closed-loop system of body-care products that delivers product refills in reusable bottles made of 100 percent recycled aluminum (think: milkman style). "Aluminum bottles are also lightweight, so they require less fuel and fewer emissions to transport. Ours can be reused without leaching concerns, unlike plastic. And they are made of a single material, so it's easier to recycle if it doesn't get reused."

 Nearly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today globally.

Herein lies the catch: "New aluminum is much more destructive environmentally and economically expensive to produce than plastic and there's more demand for aluminum every year than the previous year," says Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle in New Jersey, which aims to help people and companies manage hard-to-recycle packaging. "The effect on our planet is far worse than plastic because the mining process has more impact and the refining process is more energy-intensive." This caveat was also echoed by Nina Goodrich, executive director of GreenBlue. "Aluminum has a huge carbon footprint the first time it's made, but then when you recycle it, you save 95 percent of the energy," she says. "If you're going to use it, you've gotta make sure that there's a mechanism for recycling it."

TerraCycle estimates that a new aluminum bottle has two times the "global-warming cost" impact as a new plastic bottle made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the most widely recycled plastic. By 2050, global demand for new aluminum is expected to increase by up to 40 percent, according to the International Aluminum Institute, and post-consumer recycled aluminum will more than triple. A soaring demand can drive up product costs, too. So, while there is a movement in low-carbon aluminum mining, which some producers claim creates up to three times less CO2 in production than new aluminum, it still leaves a case for using the materials already extracted from the earth and not going in for more. "Aluminum recycling is good, but if recycling is bad or doesn't exist where you live, buy the plastic bottle over aluminum," says Szaky.

As is often the case with environmental action, this catch-22 unties the bow from what would otherwise be a very tidy solution. Recycling processes are very, very nuanced with varying statistics and practices around the world — even around a single American state. As of April 2021, Allure no longer refers to any plastic packaging as recyclable since research shows that most plastic never makes it through the recycling process. (Less than 10 percent of all the plastic ever produced has actually been turned into something else.) Too much onus still falls on consumers to understand what can be recycled by their own municipality — a Google hole few have time to wander into.

Aluminum has a huge carbon footprint the first time it's made, but then when you recycle it, you save 95 percent of the energy.

"Just throwing anything plastic, paper, or metal in the recycling bin and hoping for the best is what we call 'wish-cycling' and we really encourage people to not do it," says Mia Davis of Credo, who also helped launch Pact Collective, which helps gather and find new uses for hard-to-recycle materials from beauty packaging. "I used to do it myself, but it can really gum up the system and even make [the work happening at] recycling facilities more dangerous and expensive. The last thing we need to do is make recycling more difficult."

The state of California passed a bill in October making it illegal to use the triangle of three arrows — a.k.a. the "chasing arrows" or Mobius loop — on things that are never going to be recycled, so people don’t automatically assume it can go in their blue bin. Many mistakenly believe the arrows indicate recyclability when they are really only meant to identify the type of plastic. (FYI, only plastics #1, #2, and sometimes #5 usually have a chance of being recycled in most municipalities.) Retailers Nordstrom and Credo make beauty packaging recycling easier by providing in-store drop points, so you don't have to deal with mailing products or sorting out your local recycling rules. Credo is also requiring brands to put plastic recycling numbers on plastic packaging by 2024 (some brands don't add them), and GreenBlue is also providing assets that will clarify how to dispose of packaging with their How2Recycle labeling system.

"The very progressive brands are recognizing that they need to get involved in the collection process as well so they have the material to be circular," says Goodrich. "So one thing is building the capacity to be able to process the material in a way that it can be reused and the other is ensuring that we're collecting the material that is available. Both of those things need continued pressure."

What does this mean for the aluminum boom? Based on the 10 sources I interviewed for this story, it's clear that aluminum is not the one and only way forward, even though hopes are high. Complexities in packaging needs and our waste management systems leave no clear singular answer in regard to packaging that is less environmentally damaging. Sometimes plastic is the best option for a product's formula type, especially if it's recycled (and an infinitely recyclable plastic is in the works). Sometimes the decision-making comes down to gut instinct, like a founder or consumer that can't stomach the possibility of another plastic bottle bobbing in the ocean.

"There is no other answer to this environmental crisis than consuming less."

"There is no other answer to this environmental crisis than consuming less," says Szaky. This was echoed by all interviewees for this story. So, here's what gives someone such as myself, who can wake up in a cold sweat about the amount of waste her job produces, some clarity: It's about progress, not perfection. Buy less and buy brands that are raising the bar on waste reduction and transparency. When consumers absolutely nerd out over this subject and require better, the industry responds. Retailers like Credo are also fostering conversations between industry stakeholders so they make sustainable decisions together. "Packaging-makers and brands and merchandisers are not necessarily talking to recycling facilities," says Davis. "Sometimes there is greenwashing, but sometimes the issue is people are just not talking."

JVN Hair does use some plastic for pumps, caps, and sealing that keeps product hygienic, but the brand aims to be completely plastic-free by 2025. "There are very limited options, but we're pushing our packaging manufacturers to create more options for brands like us," says Teresa Lo of JVN. "The more brands that can get together and make these demands, the more suppliers will prioritize non-plastic options." And maybe I can start to get some sleep.

Read more about the realities of product consumption:

• Is It Possible to Be an Ethical Beauty Consumer?
• It's Time to Get Serious About Beauty's Packaging Problem
• Sorry, But You're Not Recycling Beauty Products as Much as You Think

Now, learn the story behind Allure's Clean Best of Beauty Seal:

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Keywordsbeauty packagingbeauty productfeaturealuminumaluminum packagingenvironment