Bormioli Pharma and Pierre Fabre develop a 100% recycled PET packaging for ELUDRIL® brand mouthwashes

Bormioli Pharma and Pierre Fabre, a French pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetic group present in more than 100 countries, are consolidating their partnership started in 2020 through an innovative initiative in eco-design and sustainable development.

The two companies have developed an innovative 100% recycled PET packaging for the mouthwashes of the ELUDRIL® brand, one of the European leaders in oral care in the pharmacy channel. ELUDRIL® mouthwashes thus are among the first oral hygiene products in Europe to benefit from this type of packaging. This achievement is the result of a prospecting process conducted with ten different suppliers of recyclable PET in order to find the solution meeting the requirements of Pierre Fabre in terms of machinability, safety for the consumer, aesthetics and regulatory compliance. In addition to the use of recycled plastic, the new packaging is also lighter than its old packaging, which reduces the consumption of raw materials. Thanks to this innovation, more than one ton of plastic will be saved each year.

This initiative reflects the shared commitment of the two companies to sustainable development, a fundamental pillar for both Bormioli Pharma, which has committed to manufacture 50% of its products from materials with low environmental impact by 2025, and for Pierre Fabre, who has pledged as part of his Green Mission that 50% of his dermo-cosmetic and oral hygiene portfolio will be eco-social-designed by 2023.

Roberto Valenti, Head of Materials Development Bormioli Pharma, said: "The historic collaboration with a group as important and recognized as Pierre Fabre is a source of pride and inspiration for us. We are delighted with the excellent results we have achieved together on the new packaging for ELUDRIL®, one of Europe's best-selling oral care products, which could well pave the way for the widespread adoption of recycled PET in this sector. For our part, we continue to innovate and improve, aiming to meet the most stringent quality and safety requirements in the industry, in order to provide even greater satisfaction to our customers."

Franck Legendre, Packaging, Innovation and Development Director of Pierre Fabre said: "With our teams, we conduct a daily reflection to eco-design our packaging in order to improve its environmental performance from the design and throughout its life cycle. Our partnership with Bormioli Pharma reinforces our common commitment to implement concrete and measurable actions in favour of sustainable development, an approach at the heart of our responsible innovation approach, carried with the Pierre Fabre Green Mission."

Pierre Fabre has also chosen sustainable packaging designed and manufactured by Bormioli Pharma for its dermo-cosmetic brands Eau Thermale Avène, Ducray, René Furterer, Klorane and A-Derma. A majority of Bormioli Pharma's packaging used by Pierre Fabre is manufactured in the Saint-Sulpice (Tarn) factory, less than 50 kilometres away from Pierre Fabre's main dermo-cosmetic production factory. This short circuit reduces CO2 emissions and road pollution caused by the transport of packaging.

To evaluate the environmental and societal impact of dermo-cosmetic and family health products, and to communicate transparently on this impact to consumers, Pierre Fabre launched the Green Impact Index in June 2021, a tool based on the evaluation of 20 criteria. Among the criteria used to assess the environmental impact is the eco-design of the packaging, which is based on seven variables such as recyclability and the integration of recycled materials in its composition. Thanks to the technologies and tools it develops in these two areas, Bormioli Pharma is making a concrete way to the continuous improvement of the Pierre Fabre Green Impact Index.