- Mondi and Taurus Packaging have collaborated to create a wet strength paper shopping bag for the South African retail market
- This packaging solution can prevent up to 2 million plastic bags from entering the waste stream in South Africa every month
- The paper bags support SPAR and Food Lover’s Market’s sustainability commitments to reduce plastic waste
Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, and Taurus Packaging have developed a fit-for-purpose reusable shopping bag that can carry groceries and meet the needs of the demanding Southern African retail marketplace. Mondi’s Advantage Kraft Plus with wet strength makes this paper bag a great alternative in a market where plastic bags have traditionally been used.
Mondi's kraft paper for shopping bags is strong enough for South Africa's demanding weather conditions, including humidity. Its wet strength meets the 16kg standard requirement of the South African market and resists tearing even when cold products and liquids condense quickly. It also withstands longer customer journeys on public transport.
Collaborating with Taurus Packaging, two million paper shopping bags will be produced per month using Mondi’s paper, providing a recyclable, renewable, and PEFC certified, sustainably sourced alternative to plastic.
This new solution has found a home with two customers, SPAR South Africa and Food Lover’s Market, both national chains committed to finding more sustainable solutions for their customers. Food Lover’s Market have banned plastic bags from their stores, and the new paper shopping bags have already been well received by customers as a more sustainable alternative.
“These paper bags are a part of our commitment to embrace our responsibility to the environment and climate change. As such, it was a natural step to replace plastic with paper bags. The response from consumers has been overwhelmingly positive as the paper bag itself is very strong and on average can be used seven times and carrying a weight of about 10kg,” says Angela van der Merwe, Packaging Coordinator at the Food Lover’s Market Group.
“These robust shopping bags make it possible for us to provide a sustainable yet practical alternative for our customers. Where paper bags used to tear easily, this paper repels water so makes it possible for us to provide a practical, reusable and recyclable alternative that reduces the use of plastic bags,” says Devin Galtrey, Spar South Africa.
At Mondi, we are committed to finding fit-for-purpose solutions that make ‘using paper where possible and plastic when useful’ a reality. Applying our customer-centric EcoSolutions approach, we were able to support Taurus in their search for a sustainable paper bag alternative. With our kraft paper expertise, we have made it possible to still use and reuse these paper bags under demanding handling conditions.
Mondi’s Advantage Kraft Plus with wet strength and other water-repellent paper grades are available globally with a focus on markets where humidity and rain can limit paper packaging options, such as shopping bags or cement sacks.
About Mondi
Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, contributing to a better world by making innovative packaging and paper solutions that are sustainable by design. Our business is integrated across the value chain – from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing effective industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Sustainability is at the centre of our strategy and intrinsic in the way we do business. We lead the industry with our customer-centric approach, EcoSolutions, where we ask the right questions to find the most sustainable solution. In 2020, Mondi had revenues of €6.66 billion and underlying EBITDA of €1.35 billion.
Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP). Mondi is a FTSE 100 constituent, and has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index Series since 2007.
