“Brighter and more transparent, but providing environmental benefits at each stage of the manufacturing process.” For SGD, the key issue related to the new version of the Infinite Glass was clearly to be able to meet the aesthetic requirements of perfume and cosmetic brands, while significantly reducing the environmental impact of the glass making process.

90% recycled materials

While the first version of Infinite Glass, launched in 2008, was composed of 100% recycled household glass, the 2015 version is composed of 65% of factory cullet (crushed glass rejected form a previous manufacturing batch and reused by SGD), 25% recycled post consumer glass and 10% virgin mineral raw material (sand, sodium, limestone).

The Infinite Glass Neo thus contains 90% recycled materials and no longer has the slight green tint of the initial version. “We only use white post-consumer recycled glass that we buy from a recycling scheme sorting the different types of glass,” explains Gaëlle Verjus, International Marketing Manager Perfumery & Cosmetics at SGD. The result is an extra-white glass that meets the demanding transparency and brilliance aesthetic requirements of beauty products makers.

Furthermore, this high-end glass has a much better environmental profile than classical extra-white glass. For instance, for 1 million 200g glass bottles made from Infinite Glass, SGD estimates that carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 13% approximately, power consumption is reduced by 13% approximately, a reduction of 34 tonnes of sand consumption and a reduction of 1.7 tonne of limestone consumption.

Eco-friendly finishing

The Infinite Glass Neo can be decorated in the same way as a conventional glass; it can therefore be adapted to the values and codes of each brand by using all finishing options offered by SGD.

Furthermore, SGD also offers a range of eco-friendly finishing:

– Water-based lacquers, using water as diluent and limiting the emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC).
– Glass etching with zero effluent discharge, based on a process available in the Verreries de l’Orne factory and allowing for a close-loop treatment of etching effluents.
– Organic or UV silkscreen inks, requiring few energy during the polymerization process.
– Organic inks for thermal drying (150°C).
– UV curable inks (ultraviolet radiation).

The French glassmaker also offers a new generation of inks with fewer solvents and only based on biodegradable solvents composed of 50% renewable non-oil based raw materials.

The Infinite Glass Neo has already convinced a major beauty brand for a future product launch.