Spar Austria launches bioplastic toothbrush
Launched at the end of July and sold under the retailer’s own brand Beauty Kiss, the organic toothbrush is made from 90% bio-based plastics and manufactured in a resource-saving manner, Spar Austria said. The packaging is also made from vegetable-based, renewable materials.
For consumers who care about plastic
Available across all Spar, Eurospar and Interspar stores in Austria, Nicole Berkmann, spokesperson for Spar Austria, said the toothbrush took about a year to develop.
“We have noticed that many customers are asking for more products with less plastic. Because of this, we decided to use a renewable raw material for our Beauty Kiss toothbrush,” Berkmann told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.
Made using a castor bean-based bioplastic and a resource-saving soft filament as a base material, the toothbrush targeted consumers who cared about using less plastic.
For the moment, she said there were “no comparable products in drugstores” and Spar considered itself a pioneer, setting a “good example” to offer products for all needs.
The brush joined Spar’s Beauty Kiss private brand that offered a range of natural face, body and hair care products, including shower gels, bath creams and foot creams, all made without hormonally effective additives to target consumer wellbeing.
The organic toothbrush, Berkmann said, would strengthen Spar’s offering in oral care – already “very successful” under its Beauty Kiss brand.
The rise of biotech plastics
Use of bioplastics in the global cosmetics and personal care space has gained traction in recent years, with many large players and numerous Indie Brands investing in the area.
In April, last year, world beauty major L'Oréal launched its green beauty brand Seed Phytonutrients, packaged in shower-safe paper bottles made by Ecologic Brands. And in June, this year, it announced a minority stake investment in Carbios, a green chemistry company it had developed a bioplastic recycling (bioplasturgy) program with.
In November, last year, global personal care major Unilever also announced a partnership with Italian bioplastics specialist Bio-On to further its work on reducing or cancelling its environmental impact. Unilever said it would use Bio-On’s knowledge to support its key brands, including Dove, Sunsilk and Mentadent.
