London-based brand owner Aethic says the material is to debut with its next production run of its sunscreens and face creams, and that the transparent thin film will protect packaged products from tampering and surface damage.
The material was originally derived from cellulose and was biodegradable, yet the polluting effects of carbon disulfide and other by-products of the process used to make viscose made it less popular and other lower-cost petrochemical materials supplanted cellulose.
Now, Novamont claims the material is available in an eco-sustainable version, based on an efficient use of renewable resources and presenting sustainable end-of-life options, representing an environmentally-friendly alternative to the existing products.
Used in a variety of applications, most notably carrier bags, the Mater-Bi material was developed at a particular grade for Aethic from sustainably-sourced base ingredients, promoting the setting up of innovative agro-industrial value chains and the use of local raw materials cultivated on marginal land.
Moreover, its production process adopts a ‘cascading’ approach to biomass and has low carbon emissions and the end material is biodegradable and compostable according to the European standard EN 13432.
“Consumer brands like Aethic are the future. We have no choice but to take care of the only planet we have and Aethic leads the way in preventing damage to skin and the ocean,” says Alessandro Ferlito, Novamont Sales Manager.
“It is a pleasure to have developed this version of MATER-BI with them and we hope other cosmetics companies will soon follow their lead and adopt this material”.
Aethic says it initiated the collaboration after it had already adopted a sugar cane-derived material for its bottles.
“I asked [Novamont] to develop a MATER-BI grade that would hold its fold, heat-seal easily, be sustainable, biodegradable and look great,” says Allard Marx, CEO of Aethic.
“They promptly and successfully rose to the challenge. I am absolutely delighted that we can now protect our products responsibly.”
Mater-Bi is used successfully in a variety of other applications and Novamont’s revenues are in excess of €145m worldwide.