Greener via 3D packaging

3D-PRINTED packaging is expected to reach $3.1 billion worldwide by 2016, supercharged by the availability and affordability of printers that is allowing retailers to experiment with packaging design — re-shaping and redefining design and prototyping in the process.

And this experimentation is also seen in cosmetic industry. Anita’s Balm, a natural skin balm that debuted three years ago, now uses 3D printing for its biodegradable jar. 

Anita Redd began selling her homemade natural skin balm, Anita’s Balm, and has since expanded distribution to 1,300 stores across the U.S. However, with climbing sales and the discontinuation of the bottles, Ms Redd was using to package her products, she found herself looking to alternative methods for packaging. So, she opted to go back to the same creative strategy that she relied on to concoct Anita’s Balm: the do-it-yourself method. 

In doing so, she learned about the possibilities of 3-D printing, which would allow her to customize the bottle design as she pleased, while also using biodegradable materials that decompose much more quickly than traditional plastic. “I have no chemical background, but I was going to figure it out,” she said. Her persistence paid off, leading to a beautifully designed 1-oz biodegradable roll up container. 

Ms Redd’s diligence in finding an eco-friendly solution speaks specifically to her mission of natural health in parenting and all other aspects of her life and has led to an extremely positive reaction from her clients. The first batch of 150 1-oz bottles sold out within weeks.

Her goal with the new container is not only to have more control of the packaging process, but ties in with her commitment to sustainability. Biodegradable packaging helps eliminate the amounts of plastics and gasses that manufacturers put into the environment, making a safer world for all of us.

“It’s the only one like it on the planet,’ Ms Redd said. She has a patent pending on the design. “The ability to compost and biodegrade is really going to impact the cosmetics industry in unimaginable ways.”