Why We Use Amber Glass and What We Are Doing About Plastic
Packaging decisions in the essential oil industry involve real trade-offs. Here is how we think about them.
Essential oils are highly reactive with plastic. Many compounds, particularly monoterpenes like limonene and pinene, will leach into and degrade standard PET plastic over time, contaminating the oil and compromising the container. Amber glass blocks UV light, which degrades photosensitive compounds, and is chemically inert.
Why not clear glass?
Clear glass is chemically inert but offers no UV protection. Essential oils stored in clear glass and exposed to light will degrade faster, particularly citrus oils and those high in linalool. Amber glass reduces UV transmission by approximately 90% in the 300-400nm range, which is where most photodegradation occurs.
The shipping problem
Glass is heavier than plastic, which increases the carbon footprint of shipping. It is also more fragile, which means more protective packaging is required. We use recycled cardboard inserts and paper void fill rather than foam or bubble wrap. Our outer cartons are made from FSC-certified board.
What we are working on
We are currently testing aluminium bottles as an alternative for our carrier oils. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable, lighter than glass, and offers comparable chemical resistance. The challenge is the internal coating: uncoated aluminium reacts with some essential oil compounds, so a food-grade epoxy lining is required, which adds complexity to the recycling stream.
We do not have a perfect answer yet. What we can say is that we are not using plastic, we are not using foam, and we are actively working on reducing the weight of our packaging without compromising the integrity of the product.