Responsible luxury

Luxury, by definition, is dispensable. Logically, in difficult economic times luxury should be the first thing to go. Yet that doesn’t account for people’s need for enjoyment or comfort; as a result, the luxury cosmetics industry tends to weather the storm.

Yet there is a sea change in the attitudes of consumers that brands can no longer ignore. The watchword these days is not indulgence but responsibility. Consumers still want their luxuries, but their choice is governed by increasingly ethical considerations – particularly environmental ones. Brands, too, cannot afford to be so profligate when financial belts must be tightened, and a newfound frugality is visible as manufacturers try to deliver traditional opulence on a budget.

For high-end cosmetics, the paradox is obvious. Greener, more cost-effective packaging is great – as long as it doesn’t diminish the sense of enjoyment and comfort that consumers associate with the brand. Anybody can pack their product in a recyclable, low-cost and functional container – but that doesn’t mean that anybody will buy it!

These are amongst the challenges that cosmetics packaging manufacturers face, alongside the wider issue of sustaining profitability against the backdrop of recession and wildly fluctuating energy and material costs. Accordingly, the industry must adapt in order to remain productive at the same time as reacting to these parallel but somewhat contradictory impulses towards luxury and responsibility.

One method is for manufacturers to rationalise production, concentrating activities into fewer larger factories to improve efficiency. It then becomes possible to use automation to feed high speed, high capacity production – thus unlocking the big volumes that enable a healthy return on the investment in expensive equipment. While automation is traditionally associated with the mass market rather than the luxury cosmetics sector (where there is a premium on uniqueness) there is clearly a case to be made for applying industrial manufacture to achieve distinctive pack decoration.

This is certainly the case at RPC, where our luxury cosmetics operations, previously split between two sites, have been streamlined into a single factory in Marolles, France. We believe the process – involving significant investment and the consolidation of operations from Marolles’ recently closed sister site in Mozzate, Italy – will facilitate shorter lead times and faster response to customer orders and developments through greater manufacturing efficiency.

It is obvious that, if investment increases, then market opportunities must also increase to maximise that investment. Manufacturers are looking to develop techniques that can cross the board from high end limited series to million unit ‘blockbuster’ launches.

One such product – the HotFix is a new decoration process that enables patterns of Swarovski gemstones to be affixed to plastics packaging. Traditionally, cost has been the biggest obstacle to this, because the technique required individual application by hand – an expensive process. HotFix represents the first time that the placement of gemstones into plastics has been achieved on an industrial basis. This opens up opportunities in both high end and mass market applications, as the only variable is the cost of the stones themselves.

In parallel to enhancing brand value by upgrading packaging appearance, manufacturers must also look towards more environmentally responsible packaging. Luxury by its very nature tends to favour the lavish and excessive, but growing awareness of green issues means that, alongside opulent appearance, pack manufacturers must look into improving sustainability.

Brands are making small gestures towards lowering their carbon footprints by using recycled materials or reutilising existing packaging – although of course this decision is as financially minded as it is environmentally motivated. But with improvements in technology, new decoration techniques can be adopted that deliver the luxury image expected without harming the planet.

RPC’s new EcoCoat process, for example, offers an environmentally friendly alternative to varnishing through a creative use of over-moulding. Whereas traditional over-moulding is intended to achieve high thicknesses, the objective here is to achieve a coating using only an extremely thin skin of transparent polymer, of no more than a few tenths of a millimetre. Logistics and handling are significantly simplified and reduced, while EcoCoat avoids the emission of greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with varnishing – but, crucially, a high gloss and depth of finish can be achieved.

While the future of the luxury sector looks secure, it is inevitable that changes need to be made to improve efficiencies of scale and sustainability. The result of such changes can only fuel new creativity in pack design. Responsible thinking – whether in terms of cost efficiency or environmentally minded ventures – can ensure that brands and consumers can still enjoy the comforts of luxury.

Blandine Roger is Sales and Marketing Director of RPC beauté