Well it looks as though Walmart is keeping up the pressure on the industry to improve its environmental performance, which is not a bad thing if it helps saves the planet and makes everyone in the supply chain more aware of their responsibilities.  Walmart announced they will be asking their suppliers 15 simple questions (see below) about how they produced the product and packaging. The questions fall into 4 categories:

• Energy and Climate: Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Material Efficiency: Reducing Waste and Enhancing Quality
• Natural Resources: Producing High Quality, Responsibly Sourced Raw Materials
• People and Community: Ensuring Responsible and Ethical Production

This is an effort to help to create a sustainability index number to provide customers with product information in a simple, convenient, easy to understand rating, so they can make choices and consume in a more sustainable way.

So what does this mean to the packaging industry?

Those companies who design and develop packaging will need to know and understand these 15 questions and how they contribute to their customers’ answers as suppliers to Walmart.

Have a read and let us know what you think.

Thanks go out to Branding & Marketing Guru @chrisbrown330 for bringing our attention to this article

You can read Chris’ full article at: http://tinyurl.com/nvmwva

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This looks like an ingenious and step forward that will enable a textured feel to products (e.g. less slippery shower gel products!) , more colour options and could also be used with other resins suitable for reheat stretch blow-moulding, such as PLA and PEN. Without using additives – it is also a good environmental option. Chris Penfold

Packaging Professional (IOM3) Dated 17th July 2009  – Meagan Ellis

A foamed PET blow-moulding process that creates lightweight bottles in white or silvery-colours, without using additives, has been developed, according to polymer researchers in the USA. They say the technique creates recyclable decorative and textured PET bottles.

Plastic Technologies Inc (PTI) has unveiled the oPTI bottle process, which is based on microcellular foam injection technology from MuCell in Woburn, USA. Bottles are created by injecting nitrogen into the PET melt using a modified preform moulding machine. As the cavity-fill pressure in the chamber drops below the nucleation pressure, foam cells are produced and expand as gas diffuses into them. The resulting preform can be blow-moulded using conventional technology.

Read the full article at: Coloured PET foam | IOM3: The Global Network for Materials, Minerals & Mining Professionals.

Originally published on 07/15/2009 11:20am By Bob Luder   The Packer.

Thanks to packagedesign for Tweeting this to our attention it’s an interesting read.

NatureWorks, Minnetonka, Minn., has entered into a development agreement with Netherlands-based Avantium to combine technologies on plant-based polymers used in packaging, including for fresh produce.

NatureWorks manufactures what it calls Ingeo biopolymer, which takes corn-based sugar, and breaks it down into lactic acids used to form biopolymers, a form of plastic.

via Two biopolymer companies combine forces | The Packer.

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 29 July 2009

Energy drink brand Red Bull has been fined a record £271,800 for breaching packaging waste regulations.

via Red Bull hit with record £270k packaging waste fine | packagingnews.co.uk.

By Simon Pitman, 28-Jul-2009    www.cosmeticsdesign.com

Global hair care leader Alberto Culver has announced a big rise in profits on account of significant cost cutting measures.

The company’s net profits for the third quarter beat analysts’ expectations, rising 32 percent to $28m and says that it is standing by full year forecasts, despite a tough second quarter.

via Albert Culver profits increase on cost cutting.