Plastics come in many different types and not all of them are created equal. They differ on health and environmental impact. Most plastics are not biodegradable and some may contain substances that may leach to your product. In those cases the EU Regulation may require an additional compatibility test. Where to look for if you want to select the packaging type for organic cosmetics? Well, your best option in my opinion is a completely biodegradable, safe and natural material, or simply glass. Other original options are wood and bamboo. An other interesting possibility is the use of biodegradable plant based plastics, made from mais or other plants. The problem is they may be so biodegradable, that they might not make it to the shelf, when containing water- or oilbased cosmetics. But for dry ingredients they might be your best option.
In the mean time we still will be using plastics. Look at the triangular recycling symbol on the bottom to understand your packaging material. This symbol comes with a number ranging from 1 to 7. In the next table, you can see what the symbol means. The green plastics are the safest choices.
