The search for alternatives to traditional plastic and for sustainable and upcycled solutions is an integral part of Livingcap’s DNA, the beauty packaging division of Labrenta srl, that recently launched its latest innovation on the market: Sweet Home Bamboo. A collection of caps, closures, and accessories for home fragrances created with a new material derived from bamboo which allows optimal fragrance preservation to meld with natural touches (in both look and material).
“The inspiration – explains Marco Rossato, Sales manager at Livingcap – came from our partner, Mixcycling Società Benefit, an innovative start-up that makes low environmental impact materials by reusing organic fibers from industrial manufacturing wastes and from Forever Bambù, a company that Mixycycling has been working with for some time now and a leader in cultivating giant bamboo with organic, symbiotic agricultural methods”.
In 2021, Mixcycling and Forever Bambù, that coordinates and brings together 29 agricultural companies which have planted around 200 000 Giant Bamboo plants on over 200 hectares in Italy, signed a partnership agreement to develop a bamboo-derived bioplastic to be utilized in the cosmetics industry. The results were not long in coming and a year later, Sweet Home Bambù made its debut.
“When, sensing its extraordinary possibilities, Mixcycling showed us this new blend created with fibers from Forever Bambù and brought up the idea of using it for cosmetic packaging, our R&D division immediately got to work to test out its potential. And the result is what you have in your hands: a series of natural, textured accessories that are pleasing to both look at as well as use”, adds Rossato.
BAMBOO, A RESOURCE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY
For the cosmetic industry, bamboo can represent an important resource because it’s a material that offers the same characteristics of plastic but doesn’t pollute, is natural, and embraces the green philosophy of many cosmetics and fragrances. It’s easy to understand why it has instantly won over industry insiders.
But why use Giant Bamboo specifically? “Because bamboo is not only recyclable, but it’s extremely eco-friendly – continues Rossato -. A bamboo forest, managed according to a particular protocol designed by Forever Bambù, has the ability to produce more oxygen and absorb more than 36 times the CO2 of a forest of the same size. Moreover, its cultivation does not require the use of pesticides or constant human intervention. The bamboo forests remain productive for over a century, purifying the air but also the earth: their roots absorb the harmful substances from the soil, transforming them into oxygen”. A true ally of the Planet for a greener future.