At QFN, sustainability is considered at every step - from the first spark of an idea to the moment our product reaches your hands. We assess the full lifecycle: how it’s made, how it’s used, and what happens next.

This means scrutinising every detail, from sourcing ingredients with a low environmental impact, to working with ISO-certified facilities. Just as critically, we put packaging under the microscope, as it plays a major role in our environmental footprint. After years of extensive research, we chose packaging that’s minimal by weight and design, proven in performance, and made with our carbon footprint in mind. 

When reimagining our packaging, we explored every ‘eco-friendly' option on the market, from every corner of the globe. What we found was disappointing, disheartening and often, downright deceptive. 

• Hybrid materials, like sugarcane or oyster/egg shell, often contain only 10 to 30 percent of their claimed sustainable material input. The rest is still plastic, which makes them difficult to recycle and far from biodegradable.
  
  
• Glass, while recyclable in theory, is heavy, energy-intensive, and once imported into Australia, contributes to a significant carbon footprint. Surface coatings, colourants, and incompatible caps can also prevent it from being recycled effectively.
  
  
• PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastics typically make up just 10 to 40 percent of a cosmetic pack.  When recycled multiple times, PCR materials can degrade in quality and may carry toxic residues from previous use - a no-go for skincare and cosmetic formulations. Furthermore, the end result of blended materials can complicate future recycling.
  
  
• Refill systems pose their own risks. First, refill cartridges often come with an extreme excess of material: bulky, multi-material combinations that significantly increase packaging weight and can be difficult to recycle. Second, refill pouches raise hygiene and contamination concerns. Unless components are properly sterilised between uses (which they often aren’t), there’s a real risk of compromising product safety and stability, particularly for botanical based formulations like ours.

After extensive testing and research, none of these options met our standards for safety, recyclability, or environmental impact. That’s what led us to PP airless packaging.

At QFN, we travelled the world in search of a better solution. After testing every ‘eco-friendly' alternative we could find, we kept coming back to one answer: single-wall, airless PP (polypropylene) packaging. There is no marketing hype (or greenwashing) around it, however in our opinion, it's the cleanest, safest, lightest and by far the best option on the market.

PP is a mono-material, and unlike hybrids or mixed plastics, it doesn’t require complex separation or specialist facilities. Here are just a few reasons why nothing else came close:

• It’s super lightweight. This reduces freight emissions and lowers the overall environmental impact.
  
  
• It’s food and medical grade. That means it won’t leach toxic chemicals into the product formulation or compromise your product.
  
  
• It’s airtight. This helps preserve freshness, extend shelf life, and protect the potency of active ingredients without relying on toxic synthetic preservatives.
  
  
• It’s durable and recyclable. Polypropylene (PP) can be recycled almost endlessly with minimal loss of integrity, supporting a longer, cleaner material lifecycle.

Until a truly superior alternative is developed, this remains the most sustainable and formulation-safe solution, offering uncompromised safety for both skin and body. No chemical leaching, no compromise, and a choice we proudly stand behind.