Sustainable Packaging Delivers Lighter Weight, Higher Recycled Material Content

As more consumers focus on “green” packaging as part of their purchasing decisions, food and beverage companies continue to work on sustainable packaging centered on using less materials and increasing the amount of recycled content. Packaging suppliers are also developing new eco-friendly shipping options.

As an example, Fetzer Vineyards recently completed the redesign of its wine bottles, which was unveiled in the UK, reports Food and Drink Digital. The company made the decision to redesign its bottles for both environmental and economic reasons.

The new bottles contain 25.5 percent less glass than the total weight of previous bottles. As a result, the vineyard’s glass use for wines imported to the UK has been reduced by 96 tonnes and the carbon footprint of its packaging has dropped by 485 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

In the foods industry, United Biscuits is switching to recycled polyethylene (rPET) for all its thermoformed trays by the end of 2010. United Biscuit’s sustainable packaging strategy has focused on thinner films and reducing the amount of material used. The company has achieved a 13 percent packaging reduction over the past seven years.

Other food and beverage companies including Naya, Naked Juice, Coca Cola, Danone, and Pepsico also have boosted the use of recycled plastics over the past year.

About 57 percent of the surveyed consumers said it was important to buy ethical or socially responsible products, while 42 percent reported altering their habits to do so.  A key finding indicates that consumers focus on packaging as part of their purchase decisions, and are changing their buying habits to include products with reduced packaging.

Wal-Mart also wants to eliminate all waste by reducing, recycling or reusing everything that comes into its 4,100 American stores by 2025, and for Asda, its British operation, the target is 2010. The giant retailer aims to reduce the amount of packaging in the supply chain 5 percent by 2013, and is working with suppliers to help find sustainable packaging solutions.

Some sustainable examples cited in the article include Impact Manufacturing’s display called “The Cube,” made from layers of recycled paper. It’s designed to be both a shipping unit and display unit.

Wal-Mart rolled out its Packaging Scorecard in 2008 and introduced its sustainability index in 2009 to grade suppliers and products on a range of environmental and sustainable factors.

Courtesy of The Environmental Leader.  Please click here to read the full article.