Slow beauty company RDP Skincare found a sustainable packaging material supplier in Sulapac

Slow beauty is all about creating a quality beauty routine with fewer and more sustainable ingredients. But surely you can’t create a sustainable product without sustainable packaging. This is why RDP Skincare teamed up with Sulapac to ensure their products are environmentally friendly throughout the whole supply chain. Together these two companies are promoting a systemic change in the beauty industry.

After a few years of working abroad in Paris and Tokyo, Rebecca Dufour Partanen embarked on a journey that would see her pivot for a fashion and beauty startup in New York and return home to Stockholm with a fresh idea for her own slow beauty company. Focusing on sustainability rather than rapid upscaling, RDP Skincare’s portfolio currently includes a multitasking moisturizer.

 

In slow beauty less is more

Dufour Partanen’s experiences in the fashion and beauty world encouraged her to reflect on the sustainability of the whole industry. She felt that there was much more potential in dealing with waste in the whole beauty ecosystem. Understanding that people are never going to stop using cosmetics, she started to do comprehensive research on how to improve sustainability in the beauty industry.

RDP Skincare was founded on the principle that cosmetics products should be transparent and sustainable. Instead of making false claims about magical results, the beauty companies should be open about what their products are made of and describe the environmental impact they have.

“At RDP, we have a minimalistic approach to beauty. No false claims, no fast results, no magic. We want to encourage a slow beauty routine that brings results regularly and sustainably. Our aim is to develop multitasking products that have few ingredients,” Dufour Partanen says.

Sulapac ticks all boxes

In her research, Dufour Partanen struggled to find sustainable packaging for RDP’s products. She first considered using glass packaging, but soon realized that the caps were still always made of fossil-based plastic.

“I think it’s vital to make it as easy as possible for consumers to lead a sustainable life. People shouldn’t have to solve the best ways to recycle every part of a beauty product,” Dufour Partanen explains.

When Dufour Partanen discovered Sulapac, she realized that she had finally found a solution that doesn’t compromise on environmental matters. There were various sustainability aspects that impressed her:

• Transparency: Sulapac produces significantly less CO2 emissions than traditional plastic. Calculations of the CO2 burden for every Sulapac product and material are readily available to everyone.
• Recycling: Sulapac has high ambitions for a program that would promote upcycling through, for example, chemical recycling. They launched a take back pilot in 2021.
• No permanent microplastics: Sulapac doesn’t leave permanent microplastics Littering is never OK, but even if Sulapac materials end up in nature, they biodegrade without leaving permanent microplastics behind.
• Drop-in solution: The production of Sulapac materials doesn’t require investments in new machinery. As a drop-in solution, it saves both resources and the environment by utilizing existing plastic production machinery.

The aesthetic factors were also important to Dufour Partanen when deciding on Sulapac: “Sulapac’s natural wood fibers give the packaging a luxurious feel. The combination of beauty, sustainability and functionality assured me that we have the same goal: enabling people to make conscious choices without compromising on quality. Changing the industry always starts with the little things.”

When the sustainability and beauty factors were satisfactory, RDP had to test how their water-based moisturizer functions with the jar made with Sulapac material. After pressure tests confirmed that it was a good match, RDP was ready to order jars through Sulapac’s trusted partner, Quadpack.

Branding boost has been significant

From the start, the media and beauty professionals have been interested in RDP’s packaging. Influencers have even started collaborations with RDP because of the sustainability factor. Consumers have been very intrigued, too, but also skeptical, since greenwashing is a major problem in both cosmetics and plastic industries.

“Sulapac is good PR as it differentiates us from other brands, but people also require transparency. We often get questions about how the jar biodegrades and what it’s made of. We have to make it easy for people to know the impact of the products they use. With Sulapac, that’s never been a problem, as all the metrics are provided on their website,” Dufour Partanen says.

Both Sulapac and RDP Skincare are passionate about changing the beauty industry. Pushing boundaries and creating systemic change among individuals, companies and politicians requires innovation and constant willingness to learn. New information is emerging all the time and keeping up is essential for organizations trying to stay ahead of the game.

“I’m delighted that an environmentally conscious brand like RDP Skincare chose Sulapac. We anticipate that the slow beauty trend will get bigger, and Sulapac very much wants to be part of this movement. It’s all about giving consumers the best possible means to use quality cosmetics without negatively impacting nature,” says Suvi Haimi, CEO and Co-founder of Sulapac.

“I’m eager to learn what kind of opportunities Sulapac’s R&D provides us. Together we can start a global conversation about the opportunities slow beauty presents. I think we can influence and push each other to new heights,” Dufour Partanen concludes.

 

About Sulapac
Sulapac® is an award-winning, patented, bio-based alternative for conventional plastics. It accelerates a plastic waste-free future with sustainable materials that are beautiful and functional. Like nature. The Helsinki-based company was founded in 2016 by Dr. Suvi Haimi, Dr. Laura Tirkkonen-Rajasalo and Dr. Antti Pärssinen. Its investors include CHANEL and Sky Ocean Ventures. Sulapac was ranked one of Europe’s 100 hottest startups by WIRED UK in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and one of the Nordic startups to watch in 2021 by Sifted, backed by the Financial Times. Join the forerunners. Together we can save the world from plastic waste.

About RDP Skincare
The unisex brand RDP skincare is a minimalist slow beauty brand. The product has been lovingly crafted using sustainable methods in Sweden. It is cruelty-free, all-natural and has innovative packaging which is entirely biodegradable. Focusing on sustainability and social responsibility, RDPaims to change the beauty industry for the better.

 

Take a look at Sulapac’s beautiful, functional and truly sustainable materials for cosmetic packaging.