ADF Innovation Awards Spotlight | Eco Dropper

August 16, 2023

In December 2022, our prestigious jury from brands including KAO, Beiersdorf, Unilever and many more came together to judge the ADF Innovation Awards. The finalists and winners of the ADF Innovation Awards 2023 were announced, recognised and applauded at ADF Paris, part of Paris Packaging Week in January in 2023.

Personal Care Award Winner: Eco Dropper

Please describe the brief for the pack. What were the objectives for the innovation project? What were the requirements and constraints?

Existing dropper – composed of glass/rubber/PP or ABS, etc. – are difficult for separate waste collection and recycling. Thus, Yonwoo developed a mono-material dropper which is 100% recyclable. It substitute existing dropper materials (rubber/glass) into mono-material (PP, Polypropylene) while keeping the same functionality, performance, usability and minimizing the raw material usage.

How did the pack fulfil the brief? Please describe the technical innovations in the pack and the challenges they address.

We developed the rubber bulb into an ultra-thin PP structure to secure the flexibility. We also developed the bulb and screw cap into a singular piece to guarantee the airtightness. Then, we substituted the glass pipette into a simply designed PP pipette for a desirable plastic molding.

How did you measure the sustainability impact of the pack and what were the results? Please give as much detail as possible on how the pack represents an improvement in sustainability impact.

We replaced rubber bulb and glass pipette into mono material bulb and glass pipette. This product is 100% recyclable.

Why do you believe this pack deserves to win an Innovation Award?

It follows global cosmetics packaging trends (refill, reuse, recycle, etc.) to fulfill packaging regulations and needs. This mono material product sustainable is easy to separate discharge and recyclable at the same time. It’s a mono material (PP) dropper that perfectly substitute existing dropper regarding product functionality.