Sonoco Linearpak Cereal Packaging

Hartsville South Carolina-based Sonoco (SON) is the producer of the new Archer Farms cereal packaging we reported on last month.  The packaging is part of their Linearpak line and Target's Archer Farms brand is the first to use a specially designed newly created version of the packaging for cereal.

South Carolina's WBTW News 13 broke the news on Sonoco's production of the packaging.  Until the report aired earlier this week it was not publicly known who was producing the packaging though reports were circulating the producer was Sonoco.

Linearpak has been around for a while and used for a variety of packaging applications before the company's designers worked on adapting it for cereal packaging.  Whole Foods Market is using Linearpak for its own brand of dog biscuits.

“Changing out of the bag-n-box is something people have talked about for years, but people haven’t been successful in making a conversion,”  Derek Trader, Sonoco Market Segment Manager told WBTW News 13

Sonoco told WBTW the market is buzzing since the launch of the Linearpak.  “Dealing with this bag is what everybody hates, it’s either really hard to get open or you pull it open and cereal goes flying everywhere. You can never get it resealed,” said Trader.

The Linearpak eliminates the bag, comes with a built in barrier, a peel away membrane to keep it sealed and then a plastic flip top lid.

Sonoco said the new packing is also environmentally friendly.  “It’s something that was built into our business model,” said Trader. “Feeding in recycled content at the front end of the process, making the recycled board out of it and then converting it into the consumer packaging.”

It is not known whether the Linearpak cereal packaging is recyclable at the end of use.  Several readers  have contacted us with that question. 

Sonoco's new Archer Farms cereal packaging is without question generating significant interest from consumers.  It will be interesting to see how consumers react to the new cereal box design over time and if other brands follow Target's lead and use the packaging. 

photo © Target

Ecolean Packaging

Heres an interesting new packaging concept from the Swedish company Ecolean. The packaging is based on a patented material they call Calymer.

Made from 40% calcium carbonate (natural chalk) the material is similar to that of an eggshell.  It is then combined with polymers which serve as the binding agent and yield the final product.

The flexible packaging is approved for food use in Europe and the company released a study available on its web site indicating their packaging is more efficient than other dairy packaging as it reduces food waste and materials required.

Ecolean is designed primarily for the food industry.  Its competitors include traditional plastic dairy packaging and some of the Tetra Pak line of products.

Ecolean says its packaging can be recycled at end of life like a traditional plastic (PP or PE) or incinerated for disposal.

Ball Corporation Recognized for Painted Turtle PET Wine Bottle

Ball Corporation (BLL) received two Sustainable Packaging Leadership Awards for its 750mL PET wine bottles for Painted Turtle wines from Artisan Wine Company of British Columbia.  Ball received the Canadian Packaging Magazine Best-of-Show Eco-Choice Award, as well as the bronze award in the international branded package category. 

The awards were presented by the Packaging Association of Canada in conjunction with Wal-Mart Canada and Canadian Packaging Magazine to recognize companies that have demonstrated sustainable packaging leadership.

"The objective of the Sustainable Packaging Leadership Awards is to accelerate the progress of the packaging industry to environmental, social and economic sustainability," said Jim Downham, president, Packaging Association of Canada.  "These awards recognize and honor packaging industry leaders that compete with the best-in-class on a global scale daily."

According to the judges, Ball's PET wine bottle was selected for the Eco-Choice award because "it has the potential to launch a whole new trend and change the way that wine is packaged.  The decrease in greenhouse gases related to the transportation of this lightweight container -- compared to glass -- is a huge plus for sustainability, while the colorful, well-designed label is certain to attract consumers to the product, ultimately drawing attention to the environmental merits of this highly functional package."

Ball's 100% recyclable, 750ml PET wine bottles offer consumer convenience and weigh only 54 grams, providing savings through the supply chain. Ball is the only PET bottle manufacturer in North America to offer SIG PLASMAX, an ultra-thin, commercially proven, transparent, internal silicon oxide barrier coating technology that protects the wine inside the bottle and is easily removed during the PET recycling process.

Pepsi Redesigns Packaging

PepsiCo. (PEP) announced the release of its lightest 16.9 fl oz bottle to date. The PET bottle will be used for flavored non-carbonated beverages like its Lipton Ice Tea, Tropicana juice drinks, Aquafina FlavorSplash and Aquafina Alive.

The new bottle features a twenty percent reduction in PET plastic which the company estimates will save twenty million pounds of waste.

In addition to the reduction in plastic the new bottles will also feature a ten percent reduction in label size and a five percent reduction in the shrink wrap filmed used to wrap 12-pack multi-packs of the products.

“The challenge was to deliver significantly lighter packaging that would provide the same shelf life as the heavier bottle, withstand the manufacturing and distribution process yet not compromise aesthetics,” said Robert Lewis, vice president of worldwide beverage packaging and equipment development, PepsiCo.

Pepsi's new bottle design was chosen from over thirty proposed designs in consumer testing conducted by the company. After the final design was established a team worked on making it the lightweight package soon to be available to consumers.

The new bottles are expected on store shelves this month.

Earthcycle Unveils New Sustainable Packaging Options

Vancouver-based Earthcycle unveiled a new line of fresh produce packaging at the United Fresh Produce Show currently running in Las Vegas.

The new packaging is the result of feedback from clients looking for additional sizes of Earthcycle packaging.

Earthcycle makes certified compostable packaging from palm fiber. The packaging composts in less than 90 days according to the company.

Helped by acceptance from major U.S companies including Wal-Mart, Earthcycle packaging has made a major reduction in waste.  Earthcycle's palm fiber trays have replaced packaging that previously was exclusively dominated by plastics.

The latest Earthcycle packaging accommodates a wide range or fresh produce including apples, strawberries, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. Other sizes in the line can be used for bakery applications.

“We greatly value the feedback our loyal clients provide us,” says Shannon Boase, President and Founder of Earthcycle. “It allows Earthcycle to further progress and develop its popular line of sustainable packaging options with a variety of applications.”

The raw fiber used in the production of Earthcycle is sourced from palm plantations in West Malaysia. The plantations the company sources from have been reviewed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). RSPO found Earthcycle's sources of raw materials have not replaced any primary forest nor converted any Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) for the purpose of palm oil production.

Expect to see the new Earthcycle packaging at major retailers, including Whole Foods, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Wegmans, Publix and Trader Joe's any time now.

Globe Guard Post Consumer Recycled Boxes

Salazar Packaging, a distributor of packaging materials and equipment with a focus on sustainable packaging, recently launched its own brand of corrugated boxes made from 100% post-consumer recycled content.  The new boxes are available in standard and custom sizes offering a cost effective option for businesses looking for 100% post consumer recycled corrugated boxes. 

"We are confident we will be able to make 100% recycled content boxes readily available at a reasonable price to any company that wants their packaging to be consistent with their green message and product," said Dennis Salazar, president of Salazar Packaging Inc. and a Sustainable is Good contributor.

"We have all seen a great, eco minded product wrapped in un-eco packaging, and inserted in an improperly sized un-eco box and filled with a very un-eco void fill," Salazar said.

Salzar Packaging is working with Cano Container Corporation to produce the Globe Guard line of boxes.  The recycled materials used in their production are primarily from local municipal waste Salazar said.

"We are incredibly excited about Globe Guard and see it as an important contribution to the sustainable packaging movement," said Salazar.

"Contrary to popular perception, corrugated boxes usually contain only 25-35% recycled material - or less. Now, high and low volume operations can use 100% PCW boxes and dramatically reduce their impact on the environment."

Besides contributing to a greener environment, Globe Guard boxes offer buyers another important benefit - affordability.  Unlike some packaging products engineered for sustainability, Globe Guard corrugated boxes do not sell at a premium.

Purchasers of the new boxes will be able to notice and let their customers notice the sustainable difference.

The Globe Guard logo is printed on the bottom flap of each box, and Salazar Packaging is offering customers a variety of marketing materials and support to help them express their environmental message by showcasing Globe Guard on their web sites, newsletters, and brochures.

Salazar said, "Our customer's customers are the people driving the Green movement.  Shippers need to let customers know about their sustainable efforts.  Otherwise sellers will see more and more customers drift away to what they perceive as 'Greener pastures'.  We think it's vitally important to help our customers keep their customers informed."

We Love Jam: Small Company Finds Sustainable Packaging Solution

A small San Francisco-based company, We Love Jam is using some creative sustainable packaging for a new series of products it has just added to its lineup.  We Love Jam makes a variety of high quality jams and pickled goods and has recently expanded its line to include biscotti.

The company was looking for a sustainable solution to offer single biscotti for sale in coffee shops and also for a box of nine biscotti customers could purchase.

Concerned about the environmental impact of their packaging, co-founder and president Eric Haeberli was looking for a biodegradable alternative to plastic. Running a two person company means hands on involvement in all aspects of packaging design. 

He found an ideal solution from a supplier making bags from a biodegradable Innovia film.  The compostable bags turned out to be the perfect solution to keep their products safe and fresh.  Made from sustainability harvested wood pulp the packaging can then be composted by the consumer where it will decompose

Haeberli also handled the design of the paperboard box the biscotti are sold in.  He licensed an image from an area artist and worked with a company in the area to design the box itself. 

The box is a custom box made by Tharco. It is made from 30-40% post consumer recycled material and took around six months to produce said Haeberli.

We Love Jam's biscotti packaging is a great example of how a small company can create sustainable packaging.

We are often asked by small business owners for help in navigating the packaging industry. Too often they find resistance every step of the way from manufacturers due to low order volumes and often find themselves having to compromise on sustainability in order to get their packaging produced on time and within their budget.

Examples like We Love Jam show small businesses can succeed and produce high quality well designed packaging that meets their needs and satisfies their customers.

Primo Water Ingeo PLA Bottle

North Carolina-based Primo Water launched earlier this month and becomes the only US bottled water company to use bio-based material for its singe serve 16.9 fl.oz bottles.

Now defunct, Colorado-based Biota used to be the only company in the US selling bottled water in PLA packaging.

Primo's water bottle is made from Ingeo PLA (formerly NatureWorks) from NatureWorks LLC. Ingeo is a corn-based bio-plastic. The single serve bottles are sold nationally in 18-count multi packs.

“We're proud to bring consumers a more environmentally-friendly bottled water,” said Billy Prim, CEO of Primo Water Corporation. “Not only does Primo give consumers the great taste, convenience, everyday price value and availability that they've been looking for in a bottled water, it also helps them to leave a better world for their children.”

Primo Water attracted attention earlier this year when it was featured in the green room of the first “green” Grammy awards in Los Angeles

Kraft Salad Dressing Packaging

Kraft Foods has revamped the packaging for its bottled salad dressings as part of an effort to revitalize the product line.  The new packaging has received a number of accolades from both industry and consumers.  Most recently winning an award at the DuPont sustainable packaging awards

Kraft's redesign allowed the company to spruce up the image of their salad dressings enhancing graphics and the overall design of the bottle.  The design changed from their triangular style bottle to a newer more sleek bottle that would appeal to consumers.  The new bottle is more ergonomically designed and sports clean fresh graphics adding a sense of excitement back into the line.

The new PET bottle weighs nearly 19 percent less than the previous version.  This reduction in weight increases shipping efficiency by nearly 20 percent and saves Kraft an estimated three millions pounds of PET a year.

The Chicago Tribune reported the new bottle required Kraft to significantly rework manufacturing lines at its salad dressing plants in Champaign and Garland, Texas.

Along with the redesign Kraft also reformulated all 50 existing flavors and introduced five new vinaigrette dressings.

PJ's Coffee Packaging

Late last year we reported on several well known US coffee brands switching to new packaging made by fres-co that contained a layer of PLA replacing some of the petroleum-based lining.

New Orleans-based PJ's Coffee now joins the list of companies using new packaging with a sustainable component to it. 

PJ's has a new bag from Sonoco that uses less materials than other bags on the market and offers great flexibility in terms of graphics and design.

PJ's is using the packaging for 26 SKUs of its whole bean coffee. The new bags feature a three layer structure composed of polyester, foil and a sealant.

The bags require 10 percent less material, use 15 percent less energy to produce and have 10 percent less carbon emissions compared to a standard four-ply bag structure.

“As a company, we are focused on sustaining the 'triple bottom line' demands of our customers: social responsibility, environmental stewardship and economics. The three-ply foil bag for the coffee segment is one example,” said Angela Adams, Sonoco Flexible Packaging segment manger.

The bags main sustainability claims are its efficient use of less resources according to the manufacturer.