Objective
The global market for natural and organic cosmetics has never been more promising than today. Europe, being the main cosmetic market worldwide, is a prime target market for companies wishing to explore organic beauty.
A critical success factor for natural cosmetics is product positioning, especially as these products come into direct competition with conventional brands in supermarkets, department stores and pharmacies. Market winners will be those companies that can successfully differentiate their products from competing ones. The need for complete product differentiation for organic cosmetic lines requires a bio package that offers the same environmental credentials as the product that it contains.
Environmental concerns such as plastic waste disposal (Directive 94/62/EC) and depletion of non-renewable resources together with the current trend towards greener formulations and sustainable credentials are a challenging opportunity for the development of alternatives to petroleum-based materials. Moreover, the limitations that bioplastics present in their performance provide a well-defined need for a technological solution.
BioBeauty Project will develop a biopackaging solution for organic skin creams through a combination of nanotechnology and active packaging. It will be based on an environmentally friendly biomaterial such as a PLA bionanocomposite and a natural active agent with antioxidant properties. The incorporation of nanoclays to the biocomposite is to improve the barrier properties of the PLA. The incorporation of natural antioxidants in the packaging is to delay the degradation of cosmetic creams.
The safety of each component will be tested through in vitro toxicological studies.
No commercial solution exist that meet both biodegradable and antioxidant cosmetic product requirements. This brings a big opportunity for SMEs both cosmetics manufacturers and polymer and packaging manufacturers to receive a commercial and economic return on their investment
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbioplasticspolylactic acid
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste management
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcompositesbiocomposites
- engineering and technologynanotechnology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacy
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-SME-2013
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
BSG-SME - Research for SMEsCoordinator
46980 Paterna
Spain