Award-winning industrial design and innovation consultancy Morrama reveals its latest work in the cosmetics space: Maya, a refillable packaging range created in collaboration with Shanghai-based packaging manufacturer PPK. Challenging the beauty industry to reduce its impact on the environment, the Maya collection is now available for brands to customise to their own product range.

With 95% of cosmetic packaging thrown away, packaging is one of the biggest sustainability issues facing the beauty sector. There are very limited refillable and plastic-free options available on the cosmetics market, specifically for make-up products, but Maya is aiming to change that. Typically designing bespoke products for brands, this is the first time Morrama has launched a new range which companies can purchase off-the-shelf.

All packaging options come with refills made from renewable cellulose pulp that can be recycled as paper waste at the end of life and are manufactured using renewable energy.

The Maya range:
Lipstick: With this first-of-its-kind, patented design, Morrama has completely reimagined refillable lipstick. With research showing that most people rarely finish a lipstick, the refills are designed to be removed and stored in separate board-based packaging like crayons. You can then select the shade you want for the day and simply load it into the case.

Makeup Palette: Whilst refillable palettes have been around for a while, and some brands state the metal refill pans are recyclable, the small size means they are likely to fall through the screeners during the recycling process and end up in a landfill. The Maya palette comes in 10 different sizes, with a refill pan that is fully compostable and, if it ends up in a landfill, will biodegrade without leaving any chemicals or microplastics.

Pumps & Creams: Due to the size, larger vessels like pumps and cream pots are the most wasteful when it comes to throwing them away. As a result, the Maya range offers liquid-filled pots and pumps with a 5% PP/PET lining. This lining is thin enough so as not to prevent the bottles from being recyclable in the paper waste stream in the UK, and therefore it leads to a 98% reduction in plastic compared to other leading refill cosmetics brands. PPK and Morrama are currently working on a 100% plastic-free refill that will be available next year.

The minimal design of Maya enables brand self-expression and offers a straightforward swap for makeup and beauty companies looking to move towards a more sustainable future.

Jo Barnard, founder and creative director of Morrama, comments, “Refillables are not necessarily a new thing in cosmetics, but the refills are made of mixed materials and can’t be recycled. Our design approach with Maya has been to strip the refills back to the absolute essential, cutting weight and maximising the use of renewable materials.

The primary packaging design has been driven by user experience. It’s very easy to add material to packaging to make it refillable, so we’ve been conscious of designing to be resource efficient. We are excited to give companies an opportunity to switch their products to refillables without compromising on their brand experience.”

Morrama and PPK are aiming to release a fully recycled aluminium range in 2024, taking the sustainability revolution of the beauty industry one step further.