The city of Delray Beach is on a major mission to clean up cigarette butts.   In March, the city installed "cigarette butlers" along Atlantic Avenue from Swinton Avenue to U.S. 1. The butlers are little boxes where smokers can drop the end of their cigarettes and cigars.   "Those who are wanting to use it know what to look for," said Amanda Skeberis, the city’s Clean and Safe Administrator.   Skeberis said Delray Beach made the butlers easy to find, but tried to make them not noticeable for those who don’t know what they are. The butlers serve a purpose, and the used butts are passed on to be recycled.   Skeberis said the city has collected 23,000 butts since the program started.   "The paper in the tobacco, they break down, but then the filter has a lot of plastic fiber and that is the part they meltdown to create plastic," Skeberis said.   The butts get mailed to Terracycle at no cost to the city. Skaberis said Delray Beach is looking to add more butlers next year.

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.   For the first time ever, the majority of medical students are women. The proportion of women in medical school has been on the upswing, according to a new report, increasing from 46.9% in 2015 to 49.5% in 2018. This year, that percentage reached 50.5%. The continued growth in applicant numbers indicates that the interest in a medical career remains high, which is crucial as the United States faces a projected shortage of 122,000 physicians by 2032. Association of American Medical Colleges   The NEI is seeking your input on future research goals. Members of the public—including physicians, patients, caregivers and the scientific community—are asked to comment on 2 separate initiatives: NEI’s 2020 Vision for the Future and a new research program called the Anterior Segment Initiative (ASI). The former will look to better define the institute’s research opportunities and areas of emphasis, while the ASI plans to address current knowledge gaps about the anterior segment and barriers to research. National Eye Institute   A presumed case of familial retinitis pigmentosa quite literally got the best of physicians. The patient and her father had all the typical symptoms: nyctalopia, mild microcornea, slightly arrow anterior chamber angles without hyperopia and 1+ anterior vitreous cells. Genetic testing, however, revealed a missense mutation in the BEST1 gene, confirming a diagnosis of autosomal dominant vitreoretinochoroidopathy. The patient, whose case was described in the latest issue of Ophthalmology, is expected to have a stable visual prognosis. Ophthalmology   Contact lens wearers and dog lovers unite … sort of. The Guide Dog Foundation just received a shipment of training modules including benches, tables, waste stations and agility ramps made from recycled contact lens materials. So far, the ONE by ONE Recycling Program—the only contact lens recycling program in the United States—has collected more than 95,000 pounds of waste such as contact lenses, blister packs and top foils since its inception in 2016. “We are grateful for the efforts of Bausch + Lomb and TerraCycle in reducing the environmental waste of contact lenses while also making this critical donation to help improve the lives of those who are blind or visually impaired,” said John Miller, CEO, Guide Dog Foundation. Bausch + Lomb, TerraCycle   Prefilled aflibercept syringes are now available in U.S. markets, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced. The single-use 2-mg syringes were approved back in August, and is indicated for 4 conditions: wet AMD, macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion, diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. Regeneron

I know the holidays mean you are spiffing up your living and working spaces. That Swiffer is probably getting a workout — and if you’re concerned about the packaging and toss aways of the mop products, here’s a chance to recycle. Swiffer has partnered with TerraCycle to make their Swiffer Sweeper, Duster, and WetJet refills nationally recyclable. Through the Swiffer Recycling Program, consumers can now send in the following Swiffer cleaning products to be recycled for free: Swiffer Sweeper Wet Mopping Cloths; Dry Sweeping Cloths; Wet Heavy-Duty Mopping Cloths; Dry Heavy-Duty Sweeping Cloths; Swiffer Dusters; Heavy-Duty Dusters; WetJet Mopping pads; WetJet Heavy-Duty Mopping pads; and WetJet Wood Mopping pads. Sign up at terracycle.com/en-us/brigades/swiffer and mail in the accepted waste using a prepaid shipping label. The waste is broken down, separated by material, and the plastics are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products. Now, that’s a clean sweep!

"The next morning, the redness I had from trying to exfoliate and extract my milia was gone." I love new products—no, seriously. I’m that whacko that made my parents wait in line with me for Harry Potter books; I preorder the newest iPhones at 4 a.m.; I always try new beauty brands; I change out appliances like most people change their underwear. It’s beyond just wanting to create new memories; I love innovation. Science and technology are exciting for me. You could call me a crazy nerd, but that would be like calling Dolly Parton a blonde guitar player.   When I found out about a new skincare line helmed by a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry called Noble Panacea, I started shaking like a Chihuahua—I couldn’t try it fast enough. I love panaceas (i.e. universal remedies) like giant shrimp and Japanese white peaches from Okayama, and I’m always looking for more things to cure whatever ails me.   If you’re wondering what sets this skincare line apart, I’ll tell you: a promise of high-quality ingredients and a higher quality delivery system with more penetration than any other products.  

First Impressions

Upon arrival, the packaging confused me. Every product came in small sachets containing daily allotted dollops. Given the lack of freedom around portion control and not being able to use less than the sachet’s dose of cream for the day, the monthly price tag clocks in at a whopping weight of $215 for Radiant Resilience Moisturizer, $253 for the Prime Radiance Serum, $232 for the Overnight Recharge Cream, and $149 for the Vibrant Eye Infusion. Because of the non-re-sealable sachets, that is a per month price, making it one of the most expensive lines I’ve ever used.   Skincare is what I choose to spend money on. Even well-before I became a beauty writer, I always prioritized creams over clothes. My complexion is closely linked to my mental health, and if I end up living in a yurt made out of my empty product containers someday, then that’s my choice—and at least I’ll have good skin.   The good thing about Noble Panacea’s packaging (more on this later) is that I don’t have to carry an entire pharmacy when I travel. Flying already sucks, and never mind the pain of pleading and begging a testy TSA agent not to throw away your expensive jar of cream that’s slightly over the limit.   Even though I feel like a chicken that’s just been plucked when I do the math on the annual price of Noble Panacea, I’ll say this: it’s an amazing product. I opted to try the Brilliant Collection as a preventative treatment. Time waits for no man, but it might wait for Nobel Prize-winning chemistry. After one night of using the product, I could see a difference in my skin. I had just gotten off of a long and very stressful plane ride while wearing a hat, so my forehead looked like it had been to war.   The next morning, the redness I had from trying to exfoliate and extract my milia was gone. My skin was glowing, and I hadn’t even slept on my back (I do this when I don’t want to lose product to my pillow).      

The Ingredients

  The ingredients in the product are really good: trioctyldodecyl citrate is a citric acid based skin-softening emollient, N-acetyl glucosamine is an amide used to reduce hyperpigmentation caused by aging and the sun, allantoin is a skin-protecting agent known for its anti-aging properties and speedy cell turnover, just to name a few of my favorites. It also has sea water, which is alkaline and packed with minerals to calm dry and irritated skin—and, in my opinion, is pretty damn cool.   All of the formulas check off my boxes for high-quality products: there’s no artificial or noticeable fragrance, and the line is free from phthalates, mineral oil, parabens, silicone, GMO’s, SLS & SLES, alcohol, nitrates, palm oil, petrolatum, artificial colors, and gluten—plus, it’s cruelty-free (not tested on animals).  

The Packaging

  Now, back to the packaging for a moment. The aluminum-free sachet is a bit hard to open; if you don’t tear it straight across perfectly, you may lose some product. I just used little scissors for this step, but there is definitely room for improvement here. The disposable sachets came a complimentary envelope for responsible recycling. Once your envelope is full of your month’s supply of aluminum and FSC-free packets, the instructions say to contact the Noble Panacea Skincare Concierge for a shipping label for you to print at home. Slap that thing on a box and send the envelope off in a mailbox with TerraCycle, a responsible recycling program.   Look, I’m a busy (lazy) 29-year-old woman with a full travel schedule and lots of things to worry about, like chalky makeup application at high altitude, why a frozen-foods heir is ghosting me, and the fact “anal bleaching” is in my recent Google search history. The truth is, I don’t have time to call anyone (besides my therapist) when I’m done using an expensive skincare product, much less print something (I’m always out of ink in my cartridge) and then drop it in a mailbox (no one walks anywhere in L.A.). While I appreciate the efforts that Noble Panacea goes to in order to protect their bioavailable product and its recyclable packaging, I’m not sending my empties anywhere besides my building’s trash shoot—and that’s if I’m even at home. I am very environmentally conscious in other ways, so nobody try and come for me.  

 

Takeaways

  After two weeks of using Noble Panacea’s entire Brilliant Collection, I’m seriously stunned. I brought it to a facial so that my esthetician could use the products during the treatment, and her feedback was also positive, aside from saying the texture was tacky. The tacky feeling goes away quickly though, because these creams literally melt into your skin. I prefer a heavier feeling product anyway, because my skin is oily yet consistently dehydrated because I’m too lazy to drink water. If the surface of my skin isn’t moisturized, I’ll breakout like a pre-teen.   I genuinely love how my skin looks and feels after using this for two weeks. The products don’t pill under makeup, but I haven’t even needed to wear any, thanks to this. I haven’t had a single breakout, despite traveling for Thanksgiving, eating what I did at Thanksgiving, and being outside in a blizzard at altitude. I’ve been in hot, cold, dry, and downright miserable weather conditions, but my skin hasn’t budged in clarity or complexion. I’m shocked that it’s felt so hydrated, too.   This is definitely a new add-on to the desert island list for me. If I had to choose just one product from the line to put on my team, it would be the Overnight Recharge Cream. If the price tag makes you gag, consider using it for a month when you’re in need of a full skin reset; think about it as the price of 2 facials. With the new year upon us, we could all use a fresh start before the roaring ‘20s. If your 2019 has been anything like mine, you deserve to give yourself the gift of perfect skin. Glowing skin might not cure all, but it certainly comes really close.

Swiffer recycling

I get all sorts of press releases over the transom. One that caught my eye this week was an announcement from Swiffer — the product that “gives cleaning a whole new meaning — that it was launching a recycling program.   The company has teamed up with recycling company TerraCycle to allow consumers to recycle products such as Sweeper Dry Refills, Sweeper Wet Refills, Duster Refills and WetJet Refills.   You just save your used Swiffer products, box them up (after they’re dry, of course; UPS won’t accept dripping packages), print a mailing label from TerraCycle and send them off. The company will separate the components and recycle the plastics.   If you’re interested, go to terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/swiffer and sign up.   Swiffer and TerraCycle didn’t mention whether the carbon footprint of trucking or flying all that stuff across the country would negate any benefit gained by recycling the plastic.

Trenton-based international recycling leader TerraCycle is working with Swiffer, a pioneer in the Quick Clean category and used in more than 50 million households worldwide, to help clean up the environment. Together, they will make Swiffer Sweeper, Duster and WetJet refills nationally recyclable. Also, as an added incentive, for every shipment of Swiffer waste sent to TerraCycle through the Swiffer Recycling Program, collectors earn points that can be used for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to the non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.   “We are very excited about our partnership with TerraCycle to offer free recycling of all Swiffer refills in the US. This is an important step towards sustainable solutions for our products and the start of an exciting journey with Swiffer and TerraCycle” said NA Brand Director, Kevin Wenzel.   Through the Swiffer Recycling Program, consumers can now send in the following Swiffer cleaning products to be recycled for free:  

• Swiffer® Sweeper™ Wet Mopping Cloths
• Swiffer® Sweeper™ Dry Sweeping Cloths
• Swiffer® Sweeper™ Wet Heavy-Duty Mopping Cloths
• Swiffer® Sweeper™ Dry Heavy-Duty Sweeping Cloths
• Swiffer® Dusters™
• Swiffer® Heavy-Duty Dusters™
• Swiffer® WetJet™ Mopping pads
• Swiffer® WetJet™ Heavy-Duty Mopping pads
• Swiffer® WetJet™ Wood Mopping pads

  Participation in the program is easy, simply sign up on the TerraCycle program page at https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/swiffer and mail in the accepted waste using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the waste is broken down, separated by material and the plastics are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products.   “Cleaning our home is a task that we all share,” said TerraCycle CEO and Founder, Tom Szaky. “By participating in the Swiffer Recycling Program consumers can demonstrate their commitment to a clean home, as well as a clean planet, all while being rewarded for doing the right thing.”   The Swiffer Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization. For more information on TerraCycle’s recycling programs, visit www.terracycle.com.

For the last several years L Brands’ Bath & Body Works division, with just over 1,700 North American stores, has been its shining star. While its flagship, Victoria’s Secret has experienced steep declines, with revenues down 6.5% year-to-date, Bath and Body Works is up 11.8%.   Still small compared with Victoria’s Secret—$3 billion in year-to-date sales compared with $4.5 billion for VS (excluding its international division)—Bath & Body Works is on track to reach upwards of $5 billion for fiscal year 2019 and bring in over 35% of total corporate revenue. The Trefis Team reports that virtually all of L Brands’ incremental revenue growth since 2015 is owing to Bath & Body Works.   At a time when L Brands’ doesn’t need any more competition in the highly contested personal care market, its chief competitor from back in the day, The Body Shop, has found its second wind under its new owner, Brazil-based Natura & Co.   As its name implies, Natura is a natural personal care company founded on principles of sustainability and “clean beauty.” It hits the sweet spot in personal care today, estimated to be a $13.3 billion global market in 2018 with projections it will achieve 9.4% CAGR from 2019-2025 to reach $25 billion.   For many years Bath & Body Works didn’t have to worry about The Body Shop, which lost its footing under L’Oreal’s ownership after it bought the brand in 2006 only to sell it off to Natura in 2017. But in Bath & Body Works’ early days, The Body Shop was its chief rival.   Rumor has it that Bath & Body Works was started in 1990 as a knockoff of The Body Shop with look-alike logo and packaging. The Body Shop followed with a lawsuit, which it won, so Bath & Body Works adopted its gingham-themed Heartland Era branding that lasted through 2002 when it updated again.   Though Bath & Body Works copied The Body Shop’s style, it didn’t copy its spirit, which was based on sustainability, natural, and ethically sourced ingredients. Founded in 1976 by the late environmental and human rights activist Dame Anita Roddick, The Body Shop was early to natural beauty. It was one of the first beauty companies to ban animal testing and it led in Fair Trade practices in the beauty business.   Recently, Bath & Body Works adopted The Body Shop’s animal cruelty position, but not much else. A search on its website yields no hits on the term “Organic” and “Natural” yields a handful of products containing essential oils. Bath & Body Works did not respond to my request for comment.  

The Body Shop goes back to the future

  For The Body Shop, the period from 2006-2017 under L’Oreal were its dark ages. Roddick passed away only a year after L’Oreal took over and The Body Shop didn’t fit nicely under the corporate umbrella. U.K.-based retail analyst Richard Hyman was quoted by the BBC saying, “Frankly it’s a bit of mystery them [L’Oreal] buying it in the first place. What they bought is a retailer, and what they’re good at is brands.”   Now under Natura, The Body Shop has an owner that understands the brand’s DNA and can capitalize on it. “With Natura we are bringing back the spirit of Anita Roddick and the whole reason she created The Body Shop. It feels like a coming-home party, but we should never have left that home because it’s always who we were and are,” shared Andrea Blieden, The Body Shop’s U.S. general manager who came over from L’Oreal after working as vice president of marketing for Kiehl’s.   “The brand is going back to its roots, after veering off course. We are going back to our brilliant founder’s vision that we should never have departed from,” she continues.   Now customers can experience the reincarnated spirit of the brand in a new concept store on Oxford Street in London, soon to be followed by similar prototype stores in eight cities across the globe over the next 12 to 18 months, including two planned for the U.S.   A prototype store in Los Angeles is slated for second quarter of 2020 and a store in New York will open in late second quarter or early third quarter of 2020. Blieden and team are still working on the details.  

Setting the stage

  Described as an “Activist Makers’ Workshop,” the new prototype store is designed to reflect the zeitgeist of today’s environmental-activist culture. “A key component of our workshop is to give space in the stores to be activists and to educate customers in the community what we stand for and how we support what they stand for too,” Blieden says.   “For example, we are employing plastic waste pickers in India who previously struggled to get a fair wage for their work. We are buying that plastic for a premium price and reusing it in all of our shampoo and conditioner bottles,” she continues.   The Body Shop was just awarded a B Corp certification, which means, “We are a business recognized for putting people and the planet first, not just profit,” she explains.   “All the components of Roddick’s activism, which was rare in the 1980s and 1990s, comes to life in our workshop where we are reusing and repurposing materials that would have been thrown out or wasted,” Blieden continues, explaining that the store’s fixtures are made from such materials, including recycled zinc and reclaimed wood.   Taking center stage in the store is a craftsman’s bench where customers can mix their own shea body butter concoction using spatulas and bowls provided with the resulting product ready to take home in wrapped paper.   “The craftsman idea is important to us because it goes back to The Body Shop roots, where Anita made her lotions and potions in her kitchen,” she says, adding that this hands-on experience allows deeper engagement with the brand, the store staff and among the customers as well. “It gives people a space to experience and test out the product. It is a place to play.” Next to the craftsman’s bench is an activism zone, where customers can sign up and promote their favorite causes and take selfies to share with their friends. For example, the London store has a collection bin for donations to Bloody Good Period, which sends sanitary products to women in need. “Female empowerment is really important to the company,” Blieden adds.   Returning to prominence in the new prototype store is the refill station where customers can personally fill a reusable metal container with the most popular shower gels and creams, with the offerings changing seasonally. This concept was first introduced in 1993, but it was before its time. And besides the refill station, there is also a TerraCycle bin to collect plastic bottles for recycling. Long term, the plan is to convert more of the 1,000 company-owned stores throughout 69 countries to the new model. Or if a full-scale remodel isn’t called for, the company will bring essential elements of the prototype stores into them, like the refilling and plastic recycling station.   “We are trying to build a more sustainable shop for the future,” she says. “We still want customers to get the essence of The Body Shop experience no matter what store they go to.”  

Compare and contrast

  With only about 100 The Body Shop stores in the U.S. compared with 1,600 Bath & Body Works stores, L Brands is probably not too worried right now about The Body Shop cutting into its business. But The Body Shop is leaning aggressively into the future by returning to its past, which was ahead of its time in the 1980s and 1990s, but perfect for today.   Bath & Body Works, like its corporate sister Victoria’s Secret, seems to be stuck in the past. And if L Brands’ past behavior is a predictor of its future behavior, it will be slow to pick up the clues that its gravy train is running out of steam.  

Delivered daily by 10 a.m., New York Energy is your guide to the day’s top energy news and policy in Albany and around the Empire State.

If you’re in the field of packaging, chances are you’re also well versed in sustainability. You almost have to be because the two concerns conjoin these days more often than not. As we reviewed our best-read articles of the year, we realized that most articles we posted on PackagingDigest.com in 2019 at least touched on sustainability if not focused on it entirely. One of the reasons we prepare lists of the Top Articles of the Year by different topics is so one hot topic—like sustainability!—doesn’t dominate the others. Because it would. Nine of the 10 sustainable packaging articles on this 2019 list appear in the top 50 of all articles ever posted on PackagingDigest.com. So, what are these relevant and compelling articles?! As succinctly as possible (and in reverse order for the ultimate reveal!), they are: 10. Non-plastic packaging isn’t the only sustainable solution Plastic waste is becoming a more pressing concern for today’s consumers than it has ever been in the past. But, as sustainable packaging leaders, we have an obligation to help the public understand that there is more to sustainability than shifting away from plastics entirely. Sustainable Packaging Coalition senior manager Trina Matta has some recommendations on how brand owners can handle the situation.   9. How Nestlé is innovating its way to 100% recyclable or reusable packaging Walt Peterson, Nestlé USA’s manager of packaging innovation and sustainability, talks about the world’s largest food and beverage company’s ambitious goal of moving to 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025. In this 28-minute presentation, hear how Nestlé is harnessing partnerships and cutting-edge technology to get there.   8. Marine pollution consumes plastic packaging’s sustainability story When it comes to plastics and sustainability, packaging professionals are hyper aware there is an attitude or perception problem—69% of respondents in Packaging Digest’s 2018 Sustainable Packaging Study feel a high level of environmental concern around plastic packaging. And much of that concern is centered around the visible and visceral problem of pollution in our oceans and waterways. What else do packaging professionals think about plastic packaging and its sustainability position? Download your free copy of this 48-page report by clicking the headline above. As a companion to this industry study, Packaging Digest also conducted a survey on plastic packaging sustainability with consumers. The interesting results include an analysis of the different viewpoints between packaging professionals and their customers. Click here to download your free copy.   7. Paper or plastic? 6 sustainable foodservice packaging options for both Consumers’ appetite for foodservice convenience at restaurants of all types—casual, quick-serve and takeaway—and for catering services continues. And Novolex product lines are seamlessly aligned with the ongoing foodservice packaging shift toward sustainable solutions. Here are six notable examples.   6. Remedies for single-use plastic packaging Does cold and flu season inevitably generate packaging waste? Consumer brands can step up to treat people and planet, as TerraCycle and Loop CEO Tom Szaky enlightens us. A new example is the RB Health & Nutrition Recycling Program, a national network for health-and-wellness package recovery.   5. Top sustainable companies by state Rankings always gain attention—you’re reading this “Top 10” article, right?! This infographic identifies the top sustainable companies from each state and includes many that are familiar to you as either brands or packaging vendors.   4. Packaging peers react to Loop’s daring reusable-packaging model Spoiler Alert: You’ll hear more about Loop as you continue through this list. When it was announced in January 2019, Loop—a circular economy shopping platform with durable reusable and luxury packaging at its core—gained massive media attention from around the globe, including numerous packaging and sustainability publications, as well as Forbes, Bloomberg, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, BBC News, Reuters, Le HuffPost, Fortune and many more. So what do packaging professionals think about this ground-breaking Loop initiative? Reactions were mostly positive, but there are, uh, concerns as well.   3. Amazon chooses refillable packaging for clean revolution A sustainable-packaging collaboration between Amazon and Replenish has borne fruit in the form of Amazon’s Clean Revolution cleaning products. Amazon uses the new Replenish 3.0 packaging design for its Clean Revolution line, with Replenish acting as a private-label supplier.   2. Amazon incentivizes brands to create frustration-free packaging When we published this article in September 2018, we knew it was going to be the top article of last year. And it was. Interest in ecommerce packaging remains high, though. So this article experienced high readership well into 2019—enough, in fact, to be the second best-read sustainable packaging related article of this year. Here’s what the hub-bub is all about… To help reduce packaging waste and improve efficiency of ecommerce shipping for its vendors, Amazon requires that select products being sold and fulfilled by Amazon arrive in its fulfillment centers in certified packaging under its Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP) program. This means that the packaging does not require any shipping preparation or an overbox to be applied. On the positive side for marketers, the vendor retains its own branding on the shipment. But now you might have to create a separate/special package for products sold through Amazon.com or face a stiff penalty.   1. Loop and big brands boldly reinvent waste-free packaging At the time we reported on the new Loop circular-economy shopping platform—which is totally based on reusable packaging—I knew it was going to be the top packaging news of the year. Not only is this the best-read article posted in 2019, but it also appears as the top article in our list of packaging design-related articles because design and sustainability are integral to the success of this new venture. It really belongs on both lists! Major brand owners—like Nestle, Coca-Cola, Mars, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble—have created luxury packages for their regular products for sale in select areas of the world.