Pictured: Sean Kirkham – sales and marketing director of packaging company Teqal – recently launched its “Reflections” jar which is 70% biodegradable and 100% recyclable.
Teqal, which produces packaging for the cosmetics and personal care industries, has not only launched South Africa’s first biodegradable jar, but also netted a R50-million loan from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to expand its factory at the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone, writes Shirley le Guern.
Teqal started as a greenfields business four years ago in a mini-factory in the Dube TradeHouse with a “cherry picked” team and R39-million worth of some of the world’s most energy- and production-efficient packaging machinery. It has expanded three times since start-up and is now planning a new 250m² factory and a move to DTP’s TradeZone 1.
Sean Kirkham is Teqal’s sales and marketing director and his 20 years’ experience in the cosmetics, pharma and medical packaging industry is central to the company’s success story.
He says so-called sustainable packaging solutions have traditionally been too expensive and out of reach of local cosmetics producers. But last year Tequal changed that with the launch of its “Reflections” jar which is 70% biodegradable and 100% recyclable. Kirkham believes this will be an important stepping-stone for local skincare and beauty brands that are embracing sustainability.
The external components of the jar are biodegradable and made from plant-based material sustainably sourced from industrial wood applications, while the internal portion is produced from HDPE which has already been stability tested for the packaging of creams.
This means a manufacturer that has, up until now used environmentally unfriendly packaging, can switch to the new 70% biodegradable jar without any risk. In 2018 Teqal registered a patent for an in-mould labelled jar that provides the look of a shrink sleeve but without the associated cost, application and recycling challenges.
Extra time available during the Covid-19 hard lockdown enabled the company to fine-tune its design and fast track production of the 500ml jar and cap which Kirkham now describes as “the next generation in jar design”.
The step which traditionally holds the in-mould label in place has been removed from the side of the jar. This enables full coverage of the surface of the jar and means cosmetic brands can decorate the full height of the jar. A satin-finished polypropylene substrate gives the jar a soft satiny surface, at the same time promoting 100% recyclability.
Kirkham said that combining the decoration and moulding processes cut total product cost and eliminated post-handling complications. It also reduced the high scrap rates for labels. A second update to the jar design created a lid with a dimple in the centre that can “nest”, allowing for easy stacking of products on retail shelves.
But the major attraction remained sustainability with the cosmetics industry, regarded as a major contributor to the plastic waste crisis globally – accounting for an estimated 120-plus billion units of packaging every year. The majority of this cannot be recycled.
Kirkham says the only way to change the impact of plastic on the environment is at product level with uptake of a biodegradable solution likely to make a meaningful difference.
“Not only is this product completely biodegradable, it is 30% lighter than its closest competitor and uses 60% less energy to manufacture – all of which adds to reducing its carbon footprint. (What we are saying about) our cosmetics packaging is not greenwashing. This is not about making people feel good. It is 100% compostable and has no microplastics.”