Kimberly-Clark Professional (KCP) has launched a new global campaign to persuade its customers that sustainability is about more than just a product’s packaging.

via Sustainability is more than just recycled packaging, says Kimberly-Clark | packagingnews.co.uk.

Josh Brooks, packagingnews.co.uk, 24 September 2009

Ireland’s plastic bag tax is to double under new laws expected to be published next month.

The current 22 euro cent tax on every single-use carrier distributed would double to 44 cents, around 40p, under the proposals.

Comment: It’s great to see the Irish government taking initiatives to reduce POS use of plastic bags, but I still believe  that targeting plastic bags is a political stunt that takes everyone’s eyes off the ‘bigger picture’. There are ‘bigger fish to fry’ such as the 30% food waste generated every day by most households, which used huge amounts of energy and resource to grow it, farm it, transport it, package it, take it home, store it in the fridge – only to be thrown away – let’s get a sense of perspective here! Chris Penfold

Read the full article here: http://tinyurl.com/ydpcrrn

Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 25 September 2009

Six UK DIY retailers and brands have signed up to a Courtauld-style voluntary agreement to reduce packaging and waste to landfill.

Argos, B&Q, Focus, Henkel, Homebase and Wickes have agreed to achieve a 15% packaging reduction and halve waste to landfill by the end of 2012

Read the full article here: DIY sector gets its own ‘Courtauld’ commitment | packagingnews.co.uk.

From Packaging-Gateway 17th September 2009

UK soft drinks maker Britvic has cut the amount of glass in its bottles of J20 juice drink to reduce packaging.

The weight reduction measure means the 275ml J2O bottle is 20g lighter than before, down from 200g to 180g.

The company expects to save around 4,000 tons of glass annually, equivalent to 20 million bottles of J2O a year, Ultimate said.

As part of a programme of measures introduced by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the company expects to remove 5,000 tons of packaging from landfills by December 2010.

Read the original and other interesting articles here: Packaging Gateway – Britvic Cuts Weight of Glass Bottles.

Thanks go out to @process_tech for bringing our attention to this article

By Katie Bird , www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com, 02-Sep-2009

French companies have a lot to offer the US in terms of green packaging, according to French business development agency Ubifrance.

In partnership with the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), the agency is organizing a Franco-US symposium on sustainable packaging in New York on December 14.

‘How to Go Green in Packaging’ is a one day event and will include general information about sustainability during packaging manufacture as well as a number of industry specific workshops looking at cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food.

Read the full article at: Green packaging event hopes to promote US-Franco trade links.

From an article by Ram Nidumolu, C.K. Prahalad, and M.R. Rangaswami on http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/  19th Aug 2009

I certainly concur with Nidumolu, Prahalad & Rangaswami in their assertion that “the quest for sustainability can unearth a mother lode of organizational and technological innovations that yield both top-line and bottom-line returns. That quest has already begun to transform the competitive landscape, as companies redesign products, technologies, processes, and business models.”

And also that “By equating sustainability with innovation today, enterprises can lay the groundwork that will put them in the lead when the recession ends.”

However, they also say that “When companies pursue sustainability, it’s usually to demonstrate that they are socially responsible. They expect that the endeavor will add to their costs, deliver no immediate financial benefits, and quite possibly erode their competitiveness.“  I don’t think that this is necessarily true.

They do generally want to demonstrate ’social responsibility’ (although many I believe are failing to recoup the full marketing benefits of this – i.e. if you are doing it – SHOUT about it!) BUT I don’t think that they believe it will add to their costs. Quite the reverse in fact, I think many now set out to cut/optimise costs and capitalise on a sustainable story at the same time – as demonstrated by the recent ‘cost-optimisation & sustainability’ competition that we ran.

What do you think? I’d be interested to hear

Chris Penfold

Read the full Article here: Why Sustainability Is Now the Key Driver of Innovation – HBR.org.

Thanks to @Huttson on Twitter for bringing this article to our attention

Chloe Smith, thegrocer.co.uk 31/07/2009

Asda will challenge big-name brands to follow its lead by slashing packaging by up to a third this autumn.

Following a drive to cut own-label packaging by 25%, which resulted in a saving of £10m, chief merchandising officer Darren Blackhurst said he would be asking brand owners to follow suit at Asda’s supplier conference later this year.

via Asda cuts packaging and challenges suppliers to follow suit | thegrocer.co.uk.

that after a difficult decision the WINNER of their Sustainability and Cost Optimisation Competition has been chosen.

4fx Healthcare are the lucky company and we are really excited about working with the 4fx team and getting our “teeth into” their sustainability issues.

Thanks to all of you who entered.  The judges said they had a difficult time deciding who would benifit most from the £3000 worth of free consultancy.

Don’t forget, for those of you not lucky enough to win, Design Cognition could still offer help and support, just give use a call to discuss your company’s unique challenges.

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.

By Rory Harrington, 23-Jul-2009  www.foodproductiondaily.com

A war of words has broken out within the bioplastics packaging industry with two trade bodies levelling a series of negative allegations about the different sectors.

The controversy was ignited yesterday after industry association European Bioplastics EB publicly denounced claims made by the oxo-biodegradeable OB industry as “misleading” and “free of substance”.

via Bioplastic bodies trade blows as row breaks out.