"For us, sustainability means replacing virgin plastic with recycled plastic. Such an objective is only successful if you say: I want to replace it and everything that goes with it! This is exactly where HolyPoly offers decisive input: their team knows what is feasible and how to achieve it."
Marco Achenbach
Head of Brand and Product Strategy, C. Josef Lamy GmbHThe aquaplus re paintbox is the first product made from recycled plastics in LAMY’s portfolio. The successful pilot project marks the beginning of a process that aims to completely replace all plastics with recycled materials. Together with HolyPoly, LAMY produced a product that was 99.4% recycled materials in the typical LAMY quality and at the same retail price as the classic virgin-plastic aquaplus. In doing so, LAMY has boldly defined the standard for using recycled materials. The next project is already in the pipeline.
The product makes the difference
LAMY is a medium-sized enterprise based in the southwestern German town of Heidelberg. The company aims to create the entire value-added chain on its own — from the initial product idea, concept and tool manufacturing to production and assembly. LAMY has always stood for high-quality products with a timeless design that are not a luxury for the few and reflect responsible use of resources.
"We sell up to nine million writing instruments every year, around seven million of which are made of plastic. Using recycled materials for all of them would have a huge impact on our environmental footprint. With HolyPoly, we are discovering on a product-by-product basis how this material revolution can succeed both economically and without compromising our quality standards."
As part of its commitment to environmental and social responsibility, LAMY is aware that the use of plastics made from petroleum must be phased out. However, sustainable alternatives must not jeopardize product quality and must be economically viable. LAMY therefore wants to transform its use of plastics and set ambitious standards in terms of using recyclate — with real products that make a real difference. The long-term goal is to make all its plastic products from recycled materials without increasing the price.
LAMY box of opaque paints made from virgin material (left) and recycled plastic (right)
New standards with proven quality
Although the LAMY brand has a worldwide reputation, C. Josef Lamy GmbH is one of the sector’s medium-sized companies. Its extremely wide-ranging technological expertise and short decision-making processes allow it to quickly take constructive action — including the introduction of sustainable innovation. If these lean structures reach their limits, the LAMY team relies on the resources of external specialists. For such a collaboration, it is essential that the partner has both the expertise and the right attitude. Nothing succeeds without a passion for quality and a sense of responsibility for one’s own work.
"We take great care when selecting our partners to ensure that they are a good fit for us and the way we approach things. With HolyPoly, this worked from the very first moment. I was inspired by the HolyPoly team’s expertise and passion. One reason for this was my realization that they provide a service where timesheets and price lists aren’t all that counts."
Enter HolyPoly
LAMY wanted to take the material revolution to market maturity by creating a top-quality product while maximizing the proportion of recycled material. In order to realize this complex undertaking while continuing daily production operations and accelerating the development process, LAMY got HolyPoly on board. Together they decided on the aquaplus paintbox. The goal was bold and ambitious: the paintbox made from recycled plastic could not be in any way inferior to the version made from primary-source petroleum plastic. It also had to set new standards with first-class design and top quality.
The entire palette of expertise
The market launch of the aquaplus re paintbox is the first manifestation of LAMY’s recycling ambitions. HolyPoly was aware of this challenge from the design stage right through to marketing. It began with searching for materials that met every technical, aesthetic and tactile requirement. One of the major challenges was that the material that provides the colour (the “masterbatch”) also had to be composed of recyclate. It was only possible to achieve the high recyclate content of 99.4% by avoiding the inclusion of the virgin material that would otherwise typically have been used.
"Our collaboration with HolyPoly is proving a sure way to enhance our recycling efforts! Their team looks into alternative materials, assesses the quality and organizes procurement for us. All of these aspects are essential for series production."
In order to make the use of recycled materials in the product visible, HolyPoly developed a marbled design that was achieved using the existing stock of injection-moulding tools.
As part of the final step, HolyPoly helped to market the paintbox with a workshop on communication and compliance. This allowed the LAMY team to begin a marketing campaign featuring persuasive images and text that was also in line with the EU Green Claims Directive. The fact that HolyPoly also calculated the product carbon footprint for the paintbox to determine the actual effect using recyclate had on carbon emissions was extremely helpful.
Project timeline
Concept for circular series production
The concept phase, in which several possible materials were tested, was dominated by questions such as “which material meets all the requirements?” and “how is this material best processed?”. In addition to the technical properties, it was also important to ensure availability and the optimal manufacturing process for producing a cost-effective product.
Such considerations need to extend beyond the initial product, because all subsequent product developments benefit from early clarification of fundamental issues regarding technical properties, legal requirements and ensuring sufficient material availability. As such, the paintbox concept has the potential to serve as a blueprint for the transformation of the entire product range.
"The concept phase was decisive: the HolyPoly team asked all the questions that were relevant for us and addressed them with impressive attention to detail. We decided to implement the project because the proposed solutions were so convincing. In short, everything worked out."
Choice of materials and assessment of suitability
The decision between the various material options focused on utilization and processing properties as well as the availability of the source materials. The material had to be suitable for the paintbox in terms of both look and feel. It also had to be possible to process this material using the existing machinery. Content analyses including a migration test in accordance with DIN EN 71-3 revealed that the material poses no risk with regard to the potentially hazardous ingredients tested for. HolyPoly researched reliable suppliers for the chosen material, which in this case was polystyrene from discarded refrigerators.
Specific responsibilities
- Requirements analysis for the product and process (mechanical, aesthetic, chemical safety, processing, etc.)
- Evaluation of the material datasheets and test requirements for the traditional virgin material as a specification for the material search
- Screening and sourcing of suitable materials according to criteria, e.g. plastic type (PS, ABS), source (WEEE, packaging, other) and availability (annual volume, batch sizes)
- Assessment of suitability for 4 materials with special attention to processability, warping, whiteness and colourability, impact resistance and toy safety
Marbling
Because both the basic design of the product and the available tools were predetermined, a marbled effect chosen was to set a visual accent and give visibility to the recycled material. HolyPoly developed a method using which a marbling can be achieved with little effort in the series mould, making every paintbox unique. HolyPoly also created a new tool for the design process for future marbled-effect products: an individual colour fan.
Specific responsibilities
- Technology screening for several injection moulding options to achieve the marbled effect
- Cost calculation for two versions with simulation of the achievable aesthetic in each case
- Selection of an option that could be adapted to the existing tool (the tool only required extension by a rented module for the production phase)
- On-site test series to develop optimum settings for the marbled pattern
- Subsequent injection moulding study on the series tool for the paintbox to test various marbling/mixing ratios
- Production of sample tags in various marbled colour versions
Material and process development
In order to maximize the proportion of recycled material in the product, HolyPoly and its partners developed their own masterbatch for colouring the plastic. This blend of materials consists of a plastic granulate, which acts as a carrier material, and the pigments, which provide the colour. A recipe for the LAMY masterbatch was developed that makes recyclate a viable carrier material. This means that the entire paintbox requires no virgin plastic. The only non-recycled material in the entire product is the 0.6% colour pigments, which are not made of plastic.
"We’ve learnt that a surprisingly high proportion of recyclate works in our products. As well as the quality, it was also important for us to record all the figures and see the difference that the recycled version actually makes to our product. The comparative product carbon footprints demonstrates that we are on the right track."
Colour development using recyclate
HolyPoly developed the colours on the basis of sampled PS materials until the desired values were achieved. The carrier material for the masterbatch is the same recyclate as in the rest of the paintbox. The carrier material for the masterbatch is the same recyclate as in the rest of the paintbox. The entire product comprises just two materials: recycled polystyrene (PS plastic) and colour pigment. The proportion of the pigment in the final product is just 0.6%. This made it possible to maximize the proportion of recycled materials to 99.4% while simultaneously meeting all the mechanical and technical requirements.
Specific responsibilities
- Assessment of the base colour and colourability of various base materials (depending on filler material and source)
- Colour development 1: Increasing the white value of the base material — LAMY decided against increasing the white value of the base material because pure white would have increased costs and reduced the proportion of recycled material
- Colour development 2: Marble accent colour ultramarine — It was possible to achieve the colour value with a dosage of 5-6%
- Testing the mechanical properties of the coloured product
- Material procurement and colouring for pre-series sampling
- Coordination of pre-production sampling
Product carbon footprint (PCF)
The product carbon footprint (PCF) provides an answer to the question of whether a solution using recycled materials is really more sustainable than the current version. For the LAMY project, this was achieved by objectively comparing the two paintboxes (with and without recycled material) in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The calculation was based on the ISO 14067 standard entitled “Greenhouse gases — Carbon footprint of products — Requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication”.
The comprehensive analysis in accordance with ISO 14067 takes into account every process from raw material extraction and production to the product leaving the factory in line with the cradle-to-gate principle. The emission factors of the raw materials are taken into account — in this case by comparing primary polystyrene produced from petroleum with the recycled material. Other aspects considered include transport emissions, electricity consumption during production (current energy mix and emissions resulting from the collection, transport, pre-treatment, separation and compounding of the recyclate).
Specific responsibilities
- Modelling of a customized product system for sourcing and processing plastics
- Collecting primary data and conducting interviews with key suppliers on manufacturer-specific data, e.g. transport routes, electricity consumption and emission factors for materials and machines
- Comparison with literature and database values and their influence on the overall result via sensitivity analysis (in the absence of primary data)
- Research into specific emission factors (if required)
- Calculation of the carbon footprint in accordance with ISO 14067 for paintboxes made from virgin and recycled materials
Pilot series production
The target volume for the pilot series was 12,000 units. To ensure a smooth production process, a HolyPoly team conducted on-site test runs on the series machine with the aim of highlighting the marbling. This was designed to achieve a visible difference between the recycled paintboxes and other non-recycled products.
All the necessary machine settings and parameters for series production were determined. Around three metric tonnes of recycled material were provided, along with the masterbatch in ultramarine and all the technical information and safety datasheets. HolyPoly organised a workshop for the LAMY team to ensure optimal marketing of the product. This was strategically scheduled just before the launch of aquaplus re paintboxes.
"As well as all their technical know-how, we found HolyPoly’s expert communication extremely valuable. The workshops gave our specialists the confidence they needed to communicate sustainability features accurately, transparently and in a comprehensible manner. The same applies to our marketing, recommendations regarding sales psychology and the design of the outer packaging."
Sustainability marketing workshop
Some of the key topics in the workshops were the background to the circular economy, pitfalls in sustainability communication and best practices from other sectors. The initial ideas were developed on the basis of the values of the brand and LAMY as a company. These ideas can be continued and expanded in future projects.
Specific responsibilities
- Consulting on communication, packaging, etc.
- Consulting on compliance issues and sustainability communication — with particular regard to the EU Green Claims Directive
- Workshop concept, methodology, preparation and organisation
- Workshop facilitation
- Documentation and processing of the results
Partner network
Unique in every way
The marbling effect on the aquaplus re paintboxes makes each individual paintbox truly unique! The first small series in the new ultramarine/white colour combination comprises 12,000 units. The unique look of the paintbox makes the fact that it also meets all of LAMY’s quality and sustainability requirements (and provides the ideal prerequisites for subsequent recycling) almost a secondary matter.
Perfect timing: The aquaplus re paintbox went on sale in summer 2024, just in time for the start of school. It was available at exactly the same price as the previous product, which was made of virgin material.
"Every step of the realization was transparent and rigorous in its traceability. Every one of our requirements was met. I never had any concerns about whether success would be achieved and, in the end, we got exactly what we had been hoping for: a high-quality product with a proportion of recycled material that was almost 100%."
Impact: the material makes the difference
A look at the CO2 savings calculated using our method compared to a paintbox made from virgin material reveals that the use of recycled polystyrene achieves a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This project clearly demonstrates the potential of using recycled materials. Switching the source from primary to secondary raw materials alone reduces the proportion of environmentally harmful greenhouse gas emissions by more than two thirds.
Although the relevant calculations were carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of the ISO 14067 standard, final certification of the results was not performed, as LAMY designates the data obtained for internal use only and does not employ it for any advertising purposes.
"Thanks to the pilot project, we now know that our recycled material is very versatile and is in no way inferior to virgin material. This means that we can produce the same product with a significantly smaller environmental footprint."
The vision: "re" for every product
With its aquaplus re paintbox LAMY has begun a process of transformation that sounds out the opportunities of circular material usage for its product portfolio. This pilot project shows what modern recycling can do in the case of a specific project. It also demonstrates just how much potential for reducing environmental damage remains unutilized. HolyPoly and LAMY both understand that this project marks the start of an innovation phase that could turn all future LAMY plastic products into “re” products. Progress is also continuing with the aquaplus re line: three new colour versions are planned.
"The aquaplus project with HolyPoly was an important and positive experience — both for our company and the individual members of the LAMY team. Although the technical obstacles will be greater for the safari fountain pen, I’m optimistic by nature and every experience with HolyPoly suggests we should attempt this project. If it does succeed, we will have set the bar a little higher for the entire sector."
The next project is already gaining momentum: it’s now the turn of the safari fountain pen. This project has what it takes to become a real recycling milestone for LAMY, because with all its components, a fountain pen is much more complex than a paintbox. It is for this reason that changes to the materials used in the safari design have not been ruled out.
Ultimately, this iconic writing instrument is much closer to LAMY’s brand core, and so the design, colour scheme and feel play a considerable role. In short, it’s the perfect challenge for HolyPoly. We’re looking forward to it!
Pascal Haaf
The Project Owner Lamy #aquaplus_re will be happy to answer any questions about the project.