Avient helps Bic make a more sustainable razor

Friedrichshafen, Germany — Materials maker Avient Corp. has sharpened its approach to sustainability.

The Avon Lake, Ohio-based firm is supplying a recycled content thermoplastic elastomer to iconic manufacturer Société Bic SA for use in a women's razor. In a news release, Avient officials said that when Bic engineers were challenged to use more recycled materials in the proposed razor, they found answers in a grade of Avient's reSound R-brand material.

The material has a soft, grippy feel and is highly colorable. It's formulated to achieve 62 percent recycled content, helping Clichy, France-based Bic live up to its sustainability promises.

The Avient material is used in the handle of the Bic Soleil Click 5, which will be available to consumers in Spring 2022. By combining reSound R TPE with a transparent plastic that also has recycled content, the refillable razor reaches more than 40 percent recycled content in total.

"Each customer has different sustainability needs," Avient Senior Marketing Manager Deborah Sondag said Oct. 13 at Fakuma 2021. "Aesthetics and performance are both important for a consumer brand."

She added that the recycled-content TPE "performs just like standard grades — there's no trade-off in quality."

In a news release, Thomas Brette, Bic group insights and innovations officer, said that the new razor handle "is another exciting milestone on our sustainability journey to explore new or alternative options to transform our products."

Last year, Bic committed to using 50 percent of nonvirgin petroleum plastic for its products by 2030.

"To achieve these goals, our R&D and procurement teams are constantly finding innovative solutions that limit our products' impact on the planet," Brette said.

Walter Ripple, Avient sustainability vice president, added in the release that collaborating with Bic "aligns closely with our sustainability commitments as a specialty formulator and our focus on helping customers meet their sustainability goals."

Avient, which changed its name from PolyOne in July 2020, can increase the overall percentage of recycled content in additional reSound R grades to more than 80 percent at performance comparable to prime grades. Officials said these grades can replace traditional TPEs in personal care, lawn and garden, outdoor high performance, footwear, office supplies, houseware durables and automotive applications.

Sondag added that Avient customers remain interested in many kinds of sustainable materials.

"They're looking for ways to meet their sustainability goals and commitments, and Bic is a good example," she said.

Bic is a market leader in pens, stationery, lighters and shavers. The firm posted sales of about 1.63 billion euros ($1.88 billion) in 2020.

Also at Fakuma, Avient debuted new bio-filled polymer grades to strengthen the firm's sustainable solutions portfolio. The new reSound NF-brand bio-filled grades are based on resins such as polypropylene with 15-20 percent bio-based filler. The filler is made from waste plant sources that would otherwise be landfilled.

Avient is one of the world's largest concentrate makers and one of North America's largest compounders and resin distributors. The firm employs more than 8,000 worldwide.

In 2020, Avient posted sales of about $3.2 billion. After acquiring the global masterbatch concentrates business of Clariant AG, Avient expects 2021 sales to be around $4.6 billion.