Aluminium packaging

What are the benefits and drawbacks of aluminium as a packaging material?

Benefits:

• Particularly for our recipes that contain water and so are more sensitive, the aluminium tube is the preferred packaging as it provides the best product protection. This material has very good barrier qualities and reliably protects the formulation from UV rays, water vapours and oxygen.

  Due to its malleable nature the aluminium tube also prevents impurities or micro-organisms in the air from getting into the product when the cream is removed from the tube. As we do not use any synthetic preservatives in our Dr. Hauschka products, product protection is our greatest priority (more on the importance of product protection).

  Aluminium enables us to guarantee a proportionately long shelf life, even once the product has been opened.

• Furthermore, the aluminium tube can be almost fully emptied, even in the case of highly viscous products like our creams or masks.

• Aluminium is what is referred to as a permanent material, which can be recycled time and again without losing its qualities. This means that a large proportion of the aluminium that has already been extracted is still in the recycling cycle and is used, for example, in the building trade in the form of window frames or in the car industry.

• The aluminium tube used for Dr. Hauschka Skin Care products does not cause any health concerns as it has a non-hazardous protective coating inside it. This means that there is no contact between the contents and the aluminium packaging. The tube complies with the German Food and Feed Code and is also used for food packaging. Even when the tube is squeezed or subjected to any other mechanical stress, the flexible internal protective coating is not affected.

 Drawbacks:

• A great deal of energy is needed to manufacture aluminium. In addition, its production gives rise to waste products that are damaging to the environment. Thanks to the use of recycled aluminium, the energy consumption can be considerably reduced – by up to 95% – and damage to the environment caused by waste products avoided. For this reason, we are gradually shifting to the use of residual aluminium from industry for our Dr. Hauschka aluminium tubes.