If your body-care product uses earth-friendly packaging, and your creative team is considering how to position your brand, consider a green message.

In a six-month review period ending in December 2008, only 5% of products in the category came in packaging positioned as environmentally friendly, according to Mintel, a market-research company.

One marketer taking the green route is Organic Essence, which introduced Organic Shea Cream under the Organic Essence brand. The product functions as a body moisturizer, massage cream, and makeup remover. Organic Shea Cream comes in a biodegradable organic jar.

Mintel expects the percentage of body-care products focusing on a green marketing message to increase. The market analyst firm cites many recent government initiatives designed to reduce packaging waste, encourage recycling, and make packs more biodegradable and less damaging to the environment.

Body-care packs that are going green include those made from 25% post-consumer plastic and up to 90% post-consumer recycled material. Packaging sourced from well-managed forests is gaining momentum, too, Mintel says.