French cosmetics brand L’Occitane has partnered with cosmetic tube supplier Albéa Tubes to redesign the packaging of Albéa's 30ml hand cream collection.

The companies will initially launch the packaging with the shea butter hand cream in January 2024, as per information posted on Albéa’s official LinkedIn account.

The new packaging solution features an all-plastic laminate and an Association of Plastic Recyclers-certified Greenleaf tube with a multilayer sleeve in high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

It will replace the formerly used Aluminium Barrier Laminate tube for the collection, and in turn, reduce the product's weight by 23%.

For the packaging’s cap, L’Occitane selected Albéa’s EcoTop technology with the OctoTop opening system. The two-in-one flip-top closure system retains its octagonal shape while having its seal peeled off.

With the closure system being made of HDPE, the entire tube is recyclable in existing PE recycling streams in France, Europe, and the US.

L’Occitane R&D packaging director David Bayard said: “In our CSR [corporate social responsibility] strategy, the reduction of the CO₂ impact of our products is one of our main commitments, and we want to address it with innovations that make a real difference.

“Weight reduction and recyclability were therefore at the heart of this project and led us to simplify the tube as much as possible without compromising on aesthetics and functionality. On the contrary, the OctoTop improves the tube’s functionality for our customers.”

This codevelopment project took two years to culminate and is based on a certified life cycle analysis that measured the environmental impact of the new solution.

Albéa manufactures its tubes for L’Occitane in Argonne, France, its European centre of excellence for laminate and plastic tubes.