Ahlstrom and Terre de Couleur develop fiber-based hair cap to curb single-use plastic consumption in the beauty industry
Tampere, Finland, June 1, 2023 – Through a unique value-chain collaborative innovation, sustainable specialty materials leader Ahlstrom and cosmetic brand Terre de Couleur have launched a biodegradable and reusable, fiber-based hair cap for home and professional cosmetic use.
Terre de Couleur had an ambitious goal – to remove or decrease the plastic content in their single-use 100% plastic hair cap without compromising the performance nor the usage experience and comfort of hair professionals and consumers alike.
“This objective was in direct line with Ahlstrom’s journey of ‘from Plastic to Purpose’ where we examine the full customer experience and product performance to not only invent a more sustainable end-use product but to add value in the product’s full life cycle,” said Dr. Clothilde Manzano, Head of New Business Development for Ahlstrom. “Ahlstrom and Terre de Couleur’s direct partnership allowed for a ‘boundless’ view of our Genuine Vegetable Parchment (GVP) paper technology, resulting in more sustainability and sense for the end use.”
“In salons and homes around the world, thousands of plastic caps are thrown away each day because they cannot be reused or recycled,” said Nazish Munchenbach with Terre de Couleur. “In line with our brand values, our objective was to find an accessible and efficient option that had a more positive end-of-life after its final use.”
Thanks to Ahlstrom’s Genuine Vegetable Parchment (GVP) paper’s unique attributes, this hair cap which is composed of 100% cellulose fibers and does not contain chemical additives feels silky and flexible once wet. The cap offers many advantages in cosmetic applications such as shower use, hair mask applications, and hair coloring in professional or home setting to allow:
- Hair protection
- Maintains optimal humidity and heat for color or hair care setting
- Hand washable and reusable
- Chain-of-Custody Forestry Certified according to FSC® and PEFC™ standards
- Ahlstrom’s Genuine Vegetable Parchment certified home compostable with OK COMPOST HOME from TÜV and industrially compostable with OK COMPOST from TÜV (EN13432)
“The reuse component of these caps is also a key contributor in its positive sustainability attributes,” Munchenbach further explained. “The caps can withstand more than 20 uses, yet they may fully compost in a 14-day period.”
Beyond their use in professional hair salons, this product replaces the traditional plastic caps in home coloring kits.
“The team at Terre de Couleur has proven the effectiveness of this cap, and we are ready to work across the beauty supply chain to apply these learnings to achieve plastic replacement in other cosmetic applications,” Manzano of Ahlstrom commented.
Ahlstrom in brief
Ahlstrom is a global leader in combining fibers into sustainable specialty materials. Our purpose is to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. Our vision is to be the Preferred Sustainable Specialty Materials Company for all our stakeholders. We serve five growing and distinctive end markets, which form the basis for our five divisions: Filtration, Food & Consumer Packaging, Healthcare, Building Materials, and Technical Materials. Our net sales in 2022 for continuing operations amounted to EUR 3.3 billion and we employ some 7,000 people. Read more at www.ahlstrom.com
Terre de Couleur in brief
Terre de Couleur is a biotechnology-based, innovative, and fast-growing French salon professional hair care brand. With an exclusive biotechnology that absorbs and eliminates heavy metals and toxins from the hair bulb, the Terre de Couleur formulas and protocols are unique and game-changing, particularly in the high investment segments of hair loss, scalp irritation and 100% plant hair color technology. With a vision to develop clean, safe products and sustainable solutions in hair care for salons, Terre de Couleur is in a phase of rapid growth and expansion. Find out more at www.terredecouleur.com.
