Sustainable packaging – a major concern

Research has shown retailers and consumers are demanding more sustainable packaging solutions when they make purchase decisions. Moreover, the EU’s single-use plastic (SUP) Directive, which came into force on 3rd July 2019, aims to reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. This has caused large brands and manufacturers to re-evaluate their packaging strategies and seek out sustainable alternatives.

ECOGRIP eliminates the need for single-use plastic ‘shrink wrap’ when carrying multiple bottles. It provides a 100% biodegradable packaging that can be adapted to fit any type of bottle on the market.

Finding an alternative to single-use plastic

Consumers, regulators and retailers are all demanding an end to single-use plastic, and advocating for sustainable packaging alternatives:

• END-CONSUMER AND BRAND OWNERS: People want to get engaged and contribute to the change by choosing biodegradable packaging (Source: Open Innovation Manager -FMCG)
• REGULATION: From 1st January 2021, there will be a new ‘Plastic Tax’ of EUR 0.80 per kilogram of non-recycled plastic packaging waste
• RETAIL: Retailers are starting to reject articles with single-use plastic packaging from their stores (Source: Packaging Engineer – FMCG)

While industry continues to improve recycling rates for plastic bottles and containers, most secondary packaging such as shrink-wrap falls into the category of single-use plastic. Shrink wrap may be efficient to produce, lightweight and convenient, but it has a catastrophic effect on the environment when it is not recycled. Each year, hundreds of millions of tons of SUP are produced and end up in our oceans and landfill.

This has resulted in considerable pressure from governments, environmental groups and consumers - all of whom are demanding solutions around biodegradable packaging which is more sustainable. Paper-based packaging is attractive to consumers (and retailers), but it impacts the supply chain in a number of ways. Any viable alternative to single-use plastic needs to be easy to transport, easy to handle and easy to store. But it also needs to be adaptable. With so many different bottles on the market, any paper-based solution has to be simple and scalable to meet demand.

Sustainable Packaging - ECOGRIP - Key Features and Benefits

VPK, as one of the four members of Blue Box Partners (together with Hinojosa, Klingele Paper and Packaging Group and Cart-One), carried out extensive customer-focused workshops and in-situ trials and testing to ensure performance. The development team harnessed knowledge and experience from all four partners to produce a biodegradable packaging solution that meets the needs of brands all over Europe.

ECOGRIP main key features:

• Fully adaptable concept designed to fit any bottle neck or cap regardless of diameter
• Solutions available for single-use plastic packs of 4, 6 or 8 bottles between 0.33 and 1.5 litres
• Both manual or mechanized possibilities to ensure automation and bar-code hiding (thanks to our partnership with of one of the biggest machine builders)
• Ergonomic design making it easy to handle
• Customizable with any kind of printing technology
• Registered under a European i-DEPOT