Will you choose glass or plastic for your bottles or containers?

Glass adds an element of class to any product. Consumers will pay more per price point for glass because it gives a certain sophistication to almost every item packaged with it. For instance, food, cosmetics, olive oils, beverages, jams/jellies, mayonnaise and hot sauces are packaged in glass bottles and jars. Have you ever bought wine in a plastic container, or how about a six-pack of plastic beer bottles? Plastic tends to give the impression that the product being packaged is cheaper or of lower quality.

On the other side of the coin, glass costs more to ship. It weighs more than plastic and breaks more easily. Additionally, glass jars usually use metal lids, which are more expensive than plastic lids.

Now let’s talk about plastic containers: There are thousands of choices for plastic bottles and jars. Many industries use them for many different applications. For instance, health and beauty companies use plastic bottles for shampoo/conditioner, lotions, creams and liquid hand soaps. Plastic is great for these products because if you happen to drop them with your wet hands they do not break and there is no danger of getting cut by broken glass. They are also less likely to break in shipping compared to glass containers. Milk, dairy and juice companies also put their products in plastic containers. Industrial and cleaning supply companies put their products mostly in plastic containers as well. Almost all plastic bottles and jars are outfitted with plastic closures because plastic caps are less expensive than metal caps.

At the end of the day, you can use either glass or plastic for most products, such as Glass Lotion Bottle, Glass Dropper Bottle, Glass Pump Bottle, Glass Cream Jar, Boston Round Glass Bottle, Glass Foundation Bottle, Roll On Bottle, Airless Pump Bottle, Airless Syringe Bottle, Cream Container, etc.

Plastic lotion pumps, one of the most popular dispensing methods for viscous (thick liquid) products in the personal care and beauty industry, come in all shapes and sizes. When used as designed, pumps dispense the right amount of product time after time. But have you ever wondered what goes in a lotion pump to makes it work? While there are hundreds of different designs in the market today, the basic principle is the same, and how they contribute to the overall functionality of pumping the product from the bottle to your hand.

Generally speaking, a lotion pump consists of the following components:

Actuator: An actuator, or the pump head, is what the consumer presses down to pump the product out of the container. The actuator is often made of PP plastic and can have many different designs – and often come with a up-lock or down-lock features to prevent accidental output,. This is one of the component designs that can set one pump apart from another when it comes to the exterior design, it is also the part where ergonomics play a role in consumer satisfaction.

Closure: The component that screws the entire assembly onto the neck finish of the bottle. It is identified with the common neck finish destination such as 28-410, 33-400. Often made of PP plastic, it is often designed with a rib side or smooth side surface. In certain cases a shiny metal overshell can be installed to give the lotion pump a high-end, elegant look.

Outer Gasket: The gasket is often friction fitted to the inside of the closure and it acts as a gasket barrier on the bottle land area to prevent product leakage. This outer gasket can be made from a wide variety of materials depending on the manufacturer’s design: Rubber, LDPE are just two of the many possible options.

Housing: Sometimes referred to the pump assembly housing, this component holds all the pump components in place as well as acting as a transfer chamber that sends the product from the dip tube to the actuator, and ultimately to the user’s hand. This component is often made of PP plastic. Depending on the lotion pump output and design, the size of this housing can differ greatly. A word of caution, if you are pairing the pump with a glass bottle, as glass bottles have thicker side walls, the bottle opening may not be wide enough to fit the housing – be sure to check first for fit and function.