The product has the benefits of an airless system, including protecting the formulation from oxygen as well as complete evacuation of the product, but it does not need a separate pump part.
It is the tube itself that acts as the pump, explained Pumpart’s associate director Jerome Boumnso, who presented the product at the packaging show PCD Congress held in Paris last week.
Lining the tube is a plastic pouch that contains the formula so that it does not touch the outer, more rigid wall of the tube itself.
When full, the pouch fills the space available inside the tube, however, as the product is pushed out of the tube with use, the pouch reduces in size without letting any air back in to touch the formula.
A small hole in the outer layer means the tube itself is not forced to contract as the volume of product is reduced; instead, it retains its original shape and size and continues to perform the pump action until all the product has been used.
According to Boumnso, this is the first airless tube system that does not deform when the product is ejected.
No pump means less plastic
In addition to the savings on plastic used resulting from not having a pump, which the company claims can be between 25 and 65 percent, the Tubairless is also fully recyclable.
Both inner pouch and outer tube are made from polyethylene, which can aid recycling as no separation has to be made by the consumer or the authorities after disposal.
Furthermore, unlike traditional pumps which are filled from the top before being closed - which means the tube can not be totally filled - Tubeairless is filled from the base.
For a 50ml capacity the dimensions of the Tubeairless will be slightly smaller than a traditional tube, saving further on materials used, Boumnso claimed.
A 50ml tube measures 35mm by 80mm and including the pouch and cap weighs 9.1g.