Four recent packs, as of 4 November 2026, show different ways to cut virgin material or complexity: a shrink film with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, a carton that replaces foam with folding geometry, a refillable glass core, and a label made from a production by-product. Each one is described below only as far as the trade and award coverage reports it.
Two caveats on the sources. The Nivea film details come from coverage that follows the project partners’ own account, including its resin supplier, ExxonMobil Signature Polymers. The other three packs are winners at the 2026 Pentawards, a design competition, so the figures are those given in awards coverage and not independent life-cycle results.
The four examples at a glance
| Pack | What changed | Figure reported | Not stated in the coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nivea collation shrink film (India) | Virgin PE partly replaced by PCR PE | 22% PCR content, against a 20% minimum target | Film gauge, recyclability claim, weight change |
| Even Realities Mono-Kinetic carton | Foam padding replaced by folded structure, one paper substrate | None given | Board grade, weight, drop-test results |
| Darphin Stimulskin Plus (Servaire & Co) | Refillable glass core inside a metallic casing | 30% recycled material; up to 47% less packaging weight | Baseline for the weight claim, refill pack format |
| Piquentum Brut Nature label (Studio Sonda) | Label made from wine sediment and paper waste | 10% paper pulp in the mix | Adhesive, print method, end-of-life route |
Nivea: 22% recycled PE in collation shrink film
Nivea teamed up with ExxonMobil Signature Polymers, Green Worms and Vardhaman Polypacks to put PCR polyethylene into the collation shrink film for its skincare products, in line with its Net Zero target for 2045. Packaging Europe reports that the film packs items such as body lotion bottles and tubs, and that Green Worms made the PCR granules from Category II flexible waste.
The partners aimed for at least 20% PCR. PlasticsToday reports that the film, made on a 1/1/1 layer ratio line, reached a 22% PCR content dosage. Packaging Strategies adds that, according to ExxonMobil, the film kept good packaging integrity after shrinking in the tunnel.
Why it works
The recycled content sits in secondary packaging, where the film wraps bottles and tubs and does not touch the product. The team was also complete: a resin supplier, a recycled-granule producer, a converter and the brand owner. Vardhaman Polypacks has long supplied collation shrink films to Nivea, so the converter knew the line and the pack before the trial began.
Trade-offs
The coverage gives no gauge, no weight change and no recyclability statement for the finished film, so the 22% is the only environmental figure to rely on. It is also a dosage figure, and the sources do not say how it was verified.
For EU designers it is a useful yardstick. The PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) sets a 2030 minimum of 35% post-consumer recycled content for plastic packaging outside the contact-sensitive and beverage-bottle categories, from 1 January 2030 or a set period after the Commission’s implementing act, whichever is later. Our calculation: 35% minus 22% leaves a gap of 13 percentage points. Whether and how the minimum applies to a given collation film depends on the final secondary legislation, so check the official text.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR); 2030 dates subject to the later-of rule for implementing acts
The chart shows the PPWR minimums as set out in the regulation: 30%, 10%, 30% and 35% in 2030, rising to 50%, 25%, 65% and 65% from 1 January 2040. A 22% film would sit below the 2030 value in every category except contact-sensitive non-PET, though those categories cover different packs from a shrink film.
Lesson
Set the target with a margin, then trial it on the converter’s real line. The project aimed at 20% and landed at 22%, with shrink performance checked in the tunnel. Designers planning for 2030 can use the same method with a higher target.
Even Realities: one paper substrate, no foam
Chinese brand Even Realities won a Platinum award for Mono-Kinetic. Design Week describes an origami-inspired carton for augmented reality smart glasses, produced from a single paper substrate. V-shaped folds make the four exterior walls drop outward as the internal tray is lifted, so no synthetic interior foam is needed.
Packaging South Asia reports that the same folding structure protects the lenses from drops, with no extra padding.
Why it works
The protection comes from geometry, so the pack stays in one fibre stream. Foam inserts are a common reason a paper carton fails as a mono-material, and here the structure removes them. The unboxing sequence is also the protective mechanism, which gives the brand a reason to keep the fold rather than value-engineer it away.
Trade-offs
The coverage does not report board grade, grammage, drop-test results or whether any inks or coatings are used, so recyclability in practice is unconfirmed. A structure that depends on precise folds will also rely on consistent board and converting quality; the coverage does not discuss tolerances.
Lesson
If your insert exists only to hold the product still, test whether a fold-based tray can do the job. Ask the converter for drop-test data on the real product weight before committing, because the award coverage doesn’t publish any.
Darphin Stimulskin Plus: a refillable glass core
Paris agency Servaire & Co won a Platinum award for the Darphin pack. Sustainable Packaging News reports that a sculptural metallic casing houses a refillable glass core containing 30% recycled material, while packaging weight falls by up to 47%.
Why it works
The reuse model puts the durable, premium part in the casing the user keeps, and the part that is replaced is the lighter glass core. That is the logic behind the weight figure, although the coverage does not spell out which components the 47% compares.
Trade-offs
“Up to 47%” is a ceiling, and the baseline pack is not named. A metal casing around a glass core also means two materials that must be separated at end of life, and the coverage does not say how the refill is supplied or how the casing is meant to be recycled.
Lesson
State the baseline whenever you quote a weight saving, and say which components are counted. Buyers and auditors will ask, and a claim without a stated comparison is hard to defend under green-claims scrutiny.
Piquentum Brut Nature: a label from the wine’s own sediment
Croatian agency Studio Sonda took the Diamond Award, the top prize, for this label. During secondary fermentation, yeast converts sugar into carbon dioxide and leaves a residual sediment that is typically discarded at disgorgement. Packaging South Asia reports that the sediment is mixed with 10% paper pulp sourced from the winemaker’s paper waste.
During cellar ageing, living cave mould colonises the bottle surface, and the label becomes a “living label” that proves each bottle’s authenticity.
Why it works
The material comes from the producer’s own process, so there is no new raw-material supply chain. The ageing is part of the design: the label changes in the cellar, and the change is the brand story.
Trade-offs
The coverage does not say how the label is adhered, printed or applied on a bottling line, or whether it separates cleanly in glass recycling. Mould as a feature belongs to cellar-aged products; for dry-stored goods the same idea would need another by-product.
Lesson
Look at what your own process discards and ask whether a small share of it can become a functional or decorative material. Then ask the label supplier for the recycling-compatibility data before scaling, because that is the question this example leaves open.
What to do now
- Recycled content: list your plastic packs by PPWR category and compare current PCR levels with the 2030 minimums (30%, 10%, 30%, 35%). Run trials with your converter on production lines, as the Nivea team did.
- Foam and inserts: identify inserts that only immobilise the product, and request fold-based prototypes with drop tests at real product weight.
- Weight and reuse claims: write down the baseline pack, the components counted and the date of measurement before any “up to” figure reaches a label or a sustainability report.
- By-product materials: ask suppliers for adhesive, print and end-of-life data in writing; none of it is in the Piquentum coverage.
- Legal check: this article is information, not legal advice. Confirm applicability of the recycled-content and recyclability rules against the official text of Regulation (EU) 2025/40, or take legal advice, before committing a redesign.
Sources
- Packaging Europe: Nivea and ExxonMobil develop collation shrink film with PCR PE content
- PlasticsToday: Nivea, Partners Achieve 22% Recycled Content in Shrink Film
- Packaging Strategies: ExxonMobil, Nivea and partners produce high-performance shrink film with PCR PE content
- Packaging South Asia: Pentawards 2026 winners
- Design Week: Pentawards 2026 Winners: Studio Sonda, Heinz Dipper and Servaire & Co Take Top Honours
- Sustainable Packaging News: Pentawards 2026 crowns French design talent as 100 outstanding packaging designs prepare for Paris
Header image: illustration, AI-generated.