No animal based ingredients
The Schmincke range includes numerous series and many individual products without animal based ingredients. Some series such as NORMA Blue and HORADAM Naturals have been developed as alternatives due to the increasing demand for vegan colours. In PRIMAcryl Professional the aim of formulating colours without animal ingredients is reflected in 89 of the 90 colours. Only the indispensable colour ivory black contains a pigment of animal origin, the pigment PBk 9.
A complete overview of our animal-free artists' colours and mediums is available here:
https://www.schmincke.de/en/know-how/good-to-know/vegan
Cadmium- and cobalt-free alternatives
Some classic colours for oil, acrylic and watercolour contain cadmium or cobalt pigments. As an environmentally friendly alternative we also offer cadmium-free, coloristically identical formulated colours in some series, such as PRIMAcryl Professional, Akademie Oil or Akademie Aquarell. These can be recognised by the suffix ‘hue’, e.g. cadmium yellow hue.
With NORMA Blue, our water-based oil colour, we have succeeded in formulating cobalt- and cadmium-free alternatives that are colouristically identical to NORMA Professional. The fact that the range is also completely free of solvents and preservatives in production and processing is another important contribution to sustainability and allergy-friendliness.
Recycled plastics instead of glass
Since October 2024, our 200 ml medium bottles are made from 100% recycled plastics and no longer from glass. We have carefully tested this resource-saving material changeover: While maintaining the same product quality in terms of stability, transparency and handling, recycled plastics have proven to be more sustainable.
In the medium term, all other Schmincke glass bottles will also be gradually converted to recycled plastics.
Further development
In accordance with the company motto ‘Meliora cogito’ we will continue to optimise our manufacturing processes and products in terms of sustainability and environmental protection. Of course, you can continue to rely on the renowned quality of the Schmincke products.
Sustainable and microplastic-free acrylic binder
The binder used in PRIMAcryl Professional is produced in a sustainable process: It is not extracted from mineral oil, but produced almost entirely from ‘end-of-use’ plastics (e.g. old car tyres) or plant remains. Compared to the classic ‘petroleum process’, only a minimal amount of CO2 is released. At the same time, competition with food farming is avoided by not using plant-based resources grown specifically for this purpose.
PRIMAcryl Professional containers made from recycled plastics
PRIMAcryl Professional bottles and jars are made from 100% recycled plastics in order to reduce the impact on the environment (with exception of the lids, for which there are currently no recycled variants available). As this plastic, which is made from used plastics, is not completely transparent, the new containers are white (and still remains fully recyclable). The containing PRIMAcryl colour is transported as far as possible via the label.
