Glass packaging – does color matter?

Cosmetics, water and other drinks, sauces and sweets - it is difficult to find products that glass packaging does not fit. Glass is completely chemically neutral and does not in any way affect the taste, smell or consistency of the contents.

Transparent glass allows you to determine at first glance whether the product inside is fresh, the packaging itself does not deteriorate and will never rust. Glass is hard and is not afraid of the influence of vacuum, high pressure or temperature. Moreover, glass is a material that can be recycled or reused almost indefinitely without losing quality. Even though glass is not recycled but sent to landfill, it causes the least environmental damage of all packaging materials.

The second important parameter of glass – color. Different shades of glass obtained using chemical additives provide different degrees of protection against radiation in different parts of the optical spectrum.

Brown glass

The shade we most often encounter in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. The brown color of the glass is due to the addition of sulfur, iron and carbon. Such glass provides optimal protection for light-sensitive cosmetic formulas, foods, beverages, oils and many types of drugs. Brown glass absorbs most of the UV radiation, eliminating its destructive effects.

The second power of brown glass is its marketing utility. Brown bottles have been widely used for over 150 years. At the beginning, they were used only for medicinal products, and thanks to this, today we subconsciously perceive products in such packaging as safer, more effective and natural. If we offer someone the same product in plastic and glass, they will most likely choose glass.

Blue glass

It is glass tinted with smalt, which gives it a dark blue color with a nice, pure color. It has similar characteristics to brown glass and effectively absorbs UV, but allows the blue compartment to pass through. Nevertheless, such glass still provides sufficient protection for products with moderate light sensitivity. That is why, among other things, it is relatively widely used in both cosmetics and pharmacy.

Black glass

It has the same barrier properties as brown glass, additionally blocking visible light, allowing only infrared light to pass through. The UV barrier allows the valuable properties of cosmetics and medicines, especially natural or organic ones, to be preserved longer, helping to reduce the use of preservative additives as much as possible.

Green glass

The classic green shade of glass is the result of adding chromium oxide. Green glass is already included in the pool of decorative materials. Like transparent glass, green glass transmits the entire optical spectrum: visible, IR and UV, so it is unable to provide any reasonable protection. Nevertheless, it still retains all the other useful properties of glass. That is why it is popular among producers of products such as wine, olive oil or cosmetics that do not require optical protection.

Purple glass

The purple glass is a separate story, different from all the others. Acting as a natural filter that blocks visible light, purple glass was intentionally created to transmit a certain amount of UVA (25-45%) and IR (up to 60%). This combination of optical filters should provide optimal protection of ingredients and organic products against the aging process and destruction of chemical compounds caused by visible light, further extending the shelf life of food products and cosmetics.

See our glass packaging catalog – GLASS BOTTLE CATALOG.

Decorative glass

In addition to chemical additives, different glass colors can also be obtained using surface dyes. A well-known example is frosted glass, also known as frosted glass. Currently, this method of decoration is becoming more and more popular, especially in the CBD cosmetics segment, where bottles in a friendly, opaque green color are increasingly used. Due to the fact that the dye only coats the outer walls of the container, the inside of the dyed bottles retains 100% of the chemical neutrality of the glass and is completely safe for the contents, just like traditional glass. In addition, surface dyes can also create the necessary barrier to protect the contents from radiation to the same extent as chemical additives.