Great to see that this Roses pack won the Starpack Gold Environment Award.  The judges said

 “This entry is a winner because the design provides a 45% packaging weight reduction, allows for a more cost effective supply chain and has been developed to provide the strength and stability provided by a tin, but in a carton” 

Personally I really like this pack and indeed wrote about it last November  (Cadbury replaces Roses tin with cardboard box) when it was first launched in Tesco’s. 

It’s a shame, but I heard just a few weeks ago that this pack was being withdrawn.  It appeared to have everything going for it, so why is it being withdrawn? Comments at the time hinted that although consumers talk about wanting to be green the reality was a little different – I’m not sure I really agree with that.

Outside of the packaging industry who knew about the pack or its reasons for being there?  I certainly didn’t see any adverts or publicity for it.  I think Cadbury’s really missed a trick here, this could have been a great opportunity to engage with younger consumers.

A real missed opportunity!

Well it would appear to be the case in certain sectors of the market.

German retailer Penny Markt has announced that it will be moving a range of its own beverages from PET bottles to aluminium cans.  They appear to be claiming that when you look at the whole life cycle of the product they feel that aluminium cans are more environmentally friendly, or should that be less environmentally damaging.

Penny Markt are justifying their move back into cans with claims that new can designs now mean that 30% less material is used, that the recycling rate for aluminium cans in Germany have risen significantly and that they can also achieve savings as the cans stack better than the PET bottles they are replacing and also chill much faster – therefore saving energy and money.

The full article written by David Vink of European Plastics news makes an interesting read and gives a good background to the German drinks market.  Penny Markt obviously feel they are doing the ‘right thing’ and others in their market appear to be preparing to follow, but who is ultimately right?

If you talk to PET manufacturers they will have you believe that PET is less environmentally damaging than other packaging materials – if you talk to the glass industry then they are of course the most environmentally friendly – if you talk to the aluminium can producers they will equally justify themselves.

I believe the answer is very much ‘horses for courses’ in other words it really depends on not only the products you are looking to package, but also the full life cycle of the packaging, including the transport of the empty container and the disposal of it after use.  If you need help with making the most environmentally friendly decisions for your products, then don’t forget that we have two Chartered Environmentalists who can help, so why not contact Design Cognition and see how we could help make those seemingly difficult decisions easy!

We are running a 1 day Pharmaceutical Packaging training course (Introductory level), which should be of interest to some of you.

By following the link below you will be able to download a PDF ’flyer’ & Registration form.

NB Anyone interested needs to be quick because we only have a couple of places remaining.

Do you work in the pharmaceutical industry on the ‘periphery’ of packaging, working for example in Production, Marketing, Purchasing, Design or QA etc , and need to find out more about packaging, but without having to attend a lengthy 3 day training course? Or perhaps you are a Packaging Technologist new to the area and want to gain a better understanding of pharma issues and opportunities?

If so, then this ONE DAY TRAINING COURSE could be for you! 

It’s being held on 14th October 2010 at Biocity Nottingham, UK

Find out more here:   Pharmaceutical Packaging Training Information

Every day millions of patients fail to take their medications as prescribed by their doctor. Medication non-adherence is a problem that disrupts the healthcare system in many ways, leading to patients failing to receive full treatment benefit. Non-adherence can lead to hospitalisation and even death.

The root of this problem is human behaviour. Even though we are “creatures of habit”, we often lose momentum when taking medications, or do not always understand or appreciate the benefits. Subsequently, patients often tell an ‘untruth’ to mask the fact and avoid embarrassment, whether non-compliance was accidental or planned.

Just follow the link to read the full article on ‘How Can Intelligent Packaging Best Aid Patient Compliance?’