How Mary Kay Is Advancing Sustainable Packaging Through Engineering and Recycled Materials

Cosmetics packaging involves considerably more than appearance and convenience. Material selection, manufacturing processes, product protection, functionality and end-of-life disposal all influence its environmental footprint. Mary Kay sustainable packaging initiatives are addressing these challenges through recycled materials, reduced material use and designs intended to improve recyclability.

At the company’s Richard R. Rogers Manufacturing and Research & Development Center in Lewisville, Texas, specialists from engineering, research and development, manufacturing and procurement are working with suppliers to identify opportunities to improve packaging throughout its lifecycle.

The objective is to make more responsible material choices without compromising product quality, functionality or the experience consumers associate with the Mary Kay brand.

Following the publication of its 2026 Sustainability Report, the cosmetics company outlined its packaging strategy through an interview with Kristin Dasaro, Mary Kay’s Director of R&D Engineering. She discussed the engineering considerations behind packaging improvements, the 2024 relaunch of the Mary Kay® Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover and the company’s wider approach to sustainable product design.

Mary Kay sustainable packaging and the Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover relaunch

One of the company’s significant packaging initiatives involved the 2024 relaunch of its Mary Kay® Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover.

As an established product with a loyal customer base, the makeup remover presented a particular challenge. Mary Kay wanted to introduce improvements without changing the product experience consumers already trusted.

The relaunch incorporated post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials into both the bottle and its cap. PCR materials are recovered from products that have already been used by consumers and processed for incorporation into new products.

According to Dasaro, the packaging changes required extensive evaluation to ensure that the new materials continued to meet the company’s expectations for product compatibility, quality, functionality and appearance.

The initiative illustrates an important consideration in cosmetic packaging development: introducing recycled materials must go hand in hand with maintaining the protective and functional properties required of the packaging.

Bringing manufacturing in-house in 2026

Another development came in summer 2026, when Mary Kay brought production of the Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover in-house.

The move gave the company more direct oversight of the manufacturing process and allowed closer coordination between product development, engineering, manufacturing and quality teams.

Dasaro explained that maintaining consistency was particularly important given the product’s established reputation and loyal customer following.

Producing the makeup remover at Mary Kay’s own manufacturing facility allows its teams to work more closely across these functions and oversee production against the company’s quality standards.

The Three-R Framework: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Mary Kay uses a Three-R Framework — Reduce, Reuse and Recycle — to guide its packaging development decisions.

Rather than evaluating sustainability only after a package has been designed, the framework encourages teams to consider material use and the potential next life of packaging from the beginning.

The approach involves three central questions:

• Reduce: Can the quantity of material used in the package be lowered?
• Reuse: Can the packaging be designed or adapted to support reuse?
• Recycle: Can recycled materials be incorporated, and can the finished package be designed with recyclability in mind?

These considerations must be balanced against product protection, manufacturing requirements, quality and consumer expectations.

Dasaro noted that packaging decisions are interconnected. A change in one component can affect other parts of the package, the production process and the way the finished product performs.

Consequently, the development process involves material assessments, technical testing and collaboration between different departments and suppliers.

TimeWise Toning Lotion bottle contains 94% recycled material

Another example of Mary Kay’s approach is the bottle used for its TimeWise® Targeted-Action® Toning Lotion.

According to the company, the bottle contains 94% post-consumer recycled content. It has also been designed as a recycle-ready bottle and is accompanied by a recycle-ready paper carton.

The packaging demonstrates how Mary Kay is extending its use of recycled materials beyond individual product launches.

The company sees such developments as part of a continuing effort to incorporate more responsible material choices into product packaging and support a more circular economy.

However, recycled content and recyclability are different considerations. Incorporating recycled material reduces reliance on newly sourced packaging material, while the ability to recycle a finished package depends on its design and the recycling systems available.

Why sustainable cosmetic packaging requires extensive engineering

A packaging change that appears relatively minor to consumers can involve considerable technical work behind the scenes.

Before introducing a new material or component, Mary Kay’s engineering teams need to assess how it interacts with the product formula and performs throughout manufacturing, distribution and use.

The package must protect the product throughout its intended life, withstand manufacturing and transportation processes, and function as expected when handled by consumers.

There are also trade-offs to consider. A material may offer potential environmental benefits but still fail to meet the technical requirements of a particular product.

Dasaro emphasised that sustainability improvements should not come at the expense of product integrity, efficacy, quality or consumer satisfaction.

For this reason, the company evaluates potential solutions across multiple performance requirements rather than selecting packaging materials based on environmental considerations alone.

Small design changes can improve packaging recyclability

Mary Kay’s Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover also demonstrates how seemingly minor design decisions can influence packaging recyclability.

One example is the change from a black cap to a pink one.

According to Mary Kay, the colour change helps make the cap easier for some recycling systems to detect and sort. The packaging also incorporates post-consumer recycled materials.

This illustrates how packaging design involves more than selecting recyclable materials. Colour, component design and compatibility with sorting processes can also influence what happens to packaging after consumers finish using a product.

The company is applying similar considerations to other products as it evaluates opportunities to improve packaging design.

Collaboration is central to packaging innovation

Developing more sustainable packaging requires expertise from several disciplines.

Mary Kay’s approach brings together package engineers, product formulators, manufacturing teams, procurement professionals and external suppliers.

Each group contributes a different perspective. Material changes, for example, can affect product compatibility, production equipment, procurement requirements and the performance of the finished package.

According to Dasaro, early collaboration helps identify potential problems, assess possible solutions and coordinate changes before packaging reaches commercial production.

The company considers this cooperation essential to balancing environmental objectives with product performance and operational requirements.

Mary Kay’s approach to the future of sustainable packaging

Mary Kay sees continuing developments in materials, design, engineering and manufacturing as opportunities to improve packaging further.

The company intends to keep exploring ways to reduce material consumption, incorporate recycled content and design packages with their eventual disposal or recycling in mind.

Dasaro acknowledged that not every packaging challenge has an immediate or straightforward solution. However, she described continued experimentation, collaboration and technical learning as important parts of the process.

For Mary Kay, successful sustainable packaging innovation ultimately means that consumers should not have to sacrifice product quality, functionality or convenience to benefit from more thoughtful material choices.

The Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover and TimeWise Targeted-Action Toning Lotion packaging initiatives provide examples of how the company is applying its Three-R Framework to existing products.

The broader challenge will be extending these improvements across its packaging portfolio while ensuring that environmental ambitions remain compatible with manufacturing requirements and the product experience consumers expect.