Grass paper is a green alternative to the most obvious and commonplace material of choice for box packaging.

An FMCG, food and transportation staple, conventional paper and cardboard packaging has an adverse impact on the environment, especially when manufactured using virgin fibers. The production process is energy and water-intensive and dependent on the use of corrosive, toxic and polluting chemicals.

Even with the use of recycled wood fibers, a certain proportion of fresh fibers is required in production as recycling shortens the fibers and diminishes their properties.

Since cellulose is not infinitely recyclable and can usually survive a maximum of six cycles of the recycling process, sustainable alternatives to curb deforestation as well as the immense energy and water consumption are deeply researched and sought after.

Green paper has more ecological benefits than using recycled wood-pulp paper in the mix and is also, still, recyclable and compostable.

As opposed to using wood as a raw material, grass helps save on cost and reduces emmisions by eliminating the need for transportation over long distances; grass can usually be obtained from ecological, agricultural compensation areas near the paper mill itself. These agricultural areas need to be unfertilized.

GRASS PAPER PRODUCTION

Like recycled paper, grass paper is not hundred percent grass fiber either.  Its proportion in the final product can range from 10 to 60%.

The raw material is dried grass or hay which is first cleaned and then, mechanically shredded. Once the fibers are cut to a suitable length, they are pressed into grass pellets. These pellets are used to produce paper without the use of any chemicals.

While both wood and grass contain pulp, grass contains 75% less lignin and resin, making it easier to liberate the pulp content. The production process also releases a fifth of the carbon emissions and uses half the amount of raw material as compared to that of wood fibers. Water and energy consumption is also monumentally lower.

Grass for paper is not competition to cattle feed as meadows are mowed only twice a year and that too, very late in the year.

Grass paper is suitable for folding boxes, food packaging, brochures and labels and is also slightly green in color, hinting at its origin.

In 2014, Notpla made headlines worldwide with its seaweed packaging; packaging that is biodegradable, home-compostable, and disappears naturally. Some of it is even edible!

In 2023, Notpla was joined on the list of winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize for their biodegradable packaging solution by Maharashtra-based startup, ZeroCircle – another organization built on the back of seaweed. Placing second, it was the only company from India and Asia to win the award. The winners of the competition have been awarded a collective $1.2 million cash prize. All three winners of the prize use seaweed as their raw material.

The seed for ZeroCircle was planted when founder Neha Jain, a former employee of Google, was initially provoked by a documentary on seaweed and its various use cases that could help reduce waste. This stirred curiosity was accompanied by the recent awareness of an American woman’s change in lifestyle to become completely “zero-waste”. After developing an interest in climate change and associated sustainable measures, Neha attempted to find a replacement for land-based, food-source raw materials (such as potato starch) in the bio-based material category but first switched to a minimal carbon footprint lifestyle herself. 
“I began to comprehend the impossible economics of recycling, zero-waste was a circular pipe dream in an economy that was linear”, said Neha.
As Neha explored seaweed as a substitute, she launched ZeroCircle in 2020.
ZeroCircle has invented and developed an alternative to fossil fuel-based thin-film polybags using seaweed. As opposed to other bioplastics that are marketed as compostable when, in reality, they are only industrially compostable in a factory environment with high heat, energy and humidity, ZeroCircle’s product is truly home compostable. 
The hands-on team of ZeroCircle envisions a carbon neutral future. They believe seaweed’s regenerative capabilities when redesigned and reengineered can make the chemical, food, fashion and plastic industry sustainable and pollution free. They also believe that seaweed can revolutionize the food industry as a rich source of vitamin B-12.
Other plausible use cases of seaweed include:
1.    Reduction of methane emissions - when added to cow feed at less than two percent of the dry matter, seaweed completely knocks out methane production. This is because seaweed contains chemicals that reduce the microbes in the cows' stomachs that cause them to burp when they eat grass.

ZeroCircle claims that just 9% of the ocean surface needs to be afforested to remove 53 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year which is 13 billion tons more than the annual global emission rate. This means that, in ten years, the hopeless acidification of oceans and the poisoning of the atmosphere can be reversed.
ZeroCircle has already rolled out their packaging solution which is food-safe, thermally stable and serves shelf life needs. The flexible film is plastic-free, non-GMO, zero-PLA, transparent, heat sealable and printable. It is also landfill safe, marine safe and herbivore friendly. 
ZeroCircle is also known for using existing infrastructure in terms of production lines and commercial production methods. Their business supports those fishing households who have been struggling with declining income due to unsustainable fishing practices, pollution and the warming seas and provides them with a secondary income source in the form of seaweed cultivation. Additionally, seaweed cultivation is a low-investment and near-shore activity and is commonly picked up by women. 
Furthermore, increased seaweed cultivation sequesters CO2 much more than land-based plants, cools the ocean and contributes to the production of 90% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. 
A pioneer in its field in the Indian market, ZeroCircle has boldly announced its arrival and demands change.

As of 2022, we produce approximately 400 million tons of plastic waste every year globally. Of this colossal amount, 40% is contributed by packaging.[1] It is also estimated that 17 to 20% of all plastic packaging is multilayer packaging.[2]

Multilayer packaging (MLP) materials cannot be recycled using traditional plastic recycling systems and technologies, like mechanical recycling, owing to the chemical incompatibility of the different layers.

MLP can have several thin sheets of materials like aluminum, plastic, and paper that are laminated together and are very difficult to separate. Still, MLP is a preferred material in the food industry, as it protects food products and hence giving it a longer shelf life.

An array of fast-moving consumer goods and products employ MLP as their preferred wrapping. These include shampoo sachets, biscuit packs, chocolate wraps and chips packets.

Since MLP is hard to recycle, it is either conventionally:

1. Used for Energy Recovery - A variety of processes, including incineration, combustion, gasification, pyrolization, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas recovery can be undertaken to generate heat, electricity or fuel (oil).
2. Used in Road Construction or Cement Kilns as AFR.

Most MLP is still landfilled.

To combat the issues presented by plastic pollution, technologically advanced methods of treatment of non-recyclable post -consumer packaging must be developed.

With the same mission statement, Ashaya launched WITHOUT.

Their process works on post-consumer metalized multi-layered plastic packaging (MLP) and focuses on material extraction to chemo-mechanically engineer, upcycle and re-polymerize enhanced r-polyolefins and rPETs.

WITHOUT is world’s first recycled sunglasses made from packets of chips.

The process can handle almost all types of contaminants and almost all types of plastic waste without significantly impacting final product. This includes not only metalized MLP, but also other types of plastics and flexible packaging including TetraPak, coloured PET bottles, polycotton textiles, hair, dust, tissue-paper and metalized paper plates.

Their long-term goal is to monetize waste to sustain impact.

Following the theme of last week’s blog, this week’s piece will use pictorial representations of AI-generated brands and parallelly examine commercial success to truly understand the impact of the design of a product once it hits the shelves.

While statistics alone should be enough to reveal what works and what doesn’t, what further analysis will help us define is the reliability of AI.

To first state what AI can and cannot do, let’s make the obvious assumption that while AI can make suggestions, it cannot conceive its own concept without a prompt. This indicates that any team reliant on AI for branding and design will still need to brainstorm and go back-and-forth on aesthetic, target audience, brand perception, etc.

AI effectively plays a role in streamlining the process – it reduces manhours, increases efficiency and will essentially never draw a blank! This allows design teams to generate endless number of samples and prototypes with minimum effort as input.

Following are a few cases in which established brands hopped on the bandwagon to create new-age looks for their products using AI.

1. Nutella

In an attempt to increase its sales, Nutella fed a database of patterns and colors to an algorithm of generative AI* which was quick to churn out 7 million variants in jar designs. These unique jars were sold all across Italy in 2017 and were claimed to be sold out within a month! Nutella Unica, as they called it, relied on the brand's highly recognizable lettering that allowed other elements of the design to be highly customized.

Nike

Nike has chosen a different route to drive up sales and create a unique brand identity using AI. It launched a new system that allowed customers to design their own sneakers in store. This campaign not only attracts and engages new customers but it also collects a huge amount of useful data that machine learning algorithms can use to design future products and deliver personalized recommendations.

Do we still question if AI is the future?

*Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content, including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data.

While every corporate event attendee appreciates receiving a gift bag at the event’s culmination, many of those gift bags still contain single-use items or, worse, get thrown away immediately upon leaving. This happens not because the receiver wasn’t appreciative of what they got but because the business handing out the event favors didn’t put a lot of thought and effort into what goes into their giveaway. 

Organizations have to think thoroughly about their gift bags. These are, after all, a form of marketing paraphernalia. Suitable event gift bags can boost your brand name, image, and entity, while skimping on them can wreak havoc on your organization’s reputation to the public.

If you want to take a be ahead of your competition and be able to give away useful event gift bags, read through this savvy guide of what you should and shouldn’t do. 

Consider Eco-Friendly Packaging Options 

First on this list is the most impactful of all corporate gift bags dos. Individuals today are considering making eco-friendly decisions seriously. Companies stuck in giving out single-use corporate gifts must develop new choices like eco friendly packaging. Paper and eco bags are no-fail ideas. 

The whole premise here is that the gift bag has strong potential to be re-used even after they’ve reached home. When you think about it, this is a marketing advantage as well. For instance, every time your company’s eco bag gets used, the reach and attention your logo gets multiply. That’s still advertising, right there. 

With that, you’re hitting two birds with one stone. First, you’re acing your organization’s marketing strategies. Second, you’re striking the fancy of event-goers who prefer eco-friendly and reusable packaging.

See Yourself Using Your Gift Bags

Before you order bulk from your supplier for items to include in the corporate event gift bag, ask yourself whether you see yourself using those items. Remember, you must help the receivers see themselves using your gifts too. But this can never be possible if you don’t even give receivers something with solid functionality and practicality. 

It’s time to step out of the usual notepads, pens, and tumblers, although those are really useful as well. There are other categories of items other companies may not have thought of exploring yet, that event attendees will be glad to receive, like: 

• Child-friendly giveaway items, especially if you’re a brand that focuses on parenting and children’s products; 
• Electronics such as chargers, universal adapters, and power banks; 
• Sanitation items like a pack of tissue, wet wipes, or alcohol; 
• Medical products, like everyday, over-the-counter medications and vitamins; 
• Travel suppliers; and so on. 

The point of the list above is to encourage you to think outside the box. Make your corporate event gift bag stand out from the fifty other booths at the same conference by handing out unique yet impactful event giveaways.  

Always Plan Your Budget 

Like any other facet of launching marketing activities and hosting corporate events, considering finances is crucial. Always plan your budget. Once the guest list is confirmed, you can know how much to budget for each one. That way, you can have a close-to-reality estimate as to what your event gift bags’ budget is in total. 

There’s no need to go above and beyond your budget for corporate event gifts. Instead, it’s more about finding the best suppliers to enjoy a competitive price for bulk orders while maintaining the quality and usefulness of each item in your event gift bag. 

Include A Welcome Or Thank You Note 

Whatever items you decide to put in your corporate gift bag, don’t forget that having a welcome or thank you note is imperative. Your bag will never be complete without one, as it shows your whole intention for handing out the event gift bags in the first place: that you’re grateful for the recipient’s attendance. 

You could attach your organization's business card along with your welcome or thank you note. This is a strong call to action. Now, there will be higher hopes that calls and inquiries in your business increase because attendees have your contact information through the business cards you’ve placed in your gift bags. 

The Bottomline 

Giving out corporate event gift bags isn’t always necessary, but it’s a nice add-on at the end of every event. There’s no better way to make a striking impact than by handing out gift bags as the attendees are about to leave. This notion is, however, limited only as far as the gift bags are well-thought-out. With the suggestions above, now you’ll be able to take a new twist into your corporate gift bags.

We have delved into EPR – a system that holds manufacturers and producers accountable for either correctly disposing or recycling the waste introduced into the economy by them – now, we will break down a system that incentivizes consumers to dispose their waste appropriately.
Deposit Return Scheme, also known as Deposit Return System, Deposit Refund System, Bottle Bills or Take-Back System, is essentially a surcharge on product, typically contained in a plastic or glass bottle or metal can, that is reimbursed to the purchaser upon return of the empty packaging.
DRSs are introduced to reduce littering and increase recycling rates on the account of the supplementary systems and infrastructure put in place. These systems include abundant and accessible collection centres, establishing a well-connected network of recycling plants and units and collection centres as well as suitable technology required to monitor and track deposits. 
DRS can be viewed as an application of the polluter-pays principle and is most commonly implemented by legislation although independent, private bodies can also take the initiative. 
Deposit Return Systems, or their informal equivalents, were first introduced as early as the 1800s to minimize financial losses observed due to market expansion and thus diminishing returns of business assets such as glass and stoneware bottles. These events predate the induction of plastic and aluminum as mainstay materials of bottle packaging.
What first appeared to be a solution soon became the reason behind the reintroduction of deposit-return systems. In the 70s and 80s, businesses and brands were excited to no longer invest in and maintain beverage packaging throughout its lifecycle an asset. The popularity of single-use PET bottles and aluminum beverage cans grew as they would be lightweight, disposable, easier to handle and cost-efficient. 
The first step in the revamping of DRS to limit a newfound evil was the introduction of curbside recycling.
Ontario was the first in the world to implement curbside collection by the name of “blue box” collection. 
The Litter Act of 1970 in British Columbia, Canada also marked a world first by introducing a mandatory refund system for beer and soft drink cans and bottles: the world’s first government legislated deposit return system.
Over 50 jurisdictions worldwide have now implemented Deposit Return Schemes. 
 

Along with the surge in global voicing of concerns regarding sustainability comes “greenwashing” – an attempt made by corporations and brands to exploit such sentiment and mislead consumers into buying and using more expensive products that are no better for the environment.

In the short timeline of the last five years, there has been a 71% rise in online searches for sustainable goods globally, as reported by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Another survey conducted by McKinsey & Co. in 2020 concluded that 66% of all respondents and 75% of millennial respondents consider sustainability when they make a purchase.

Many similar reports and surveys by First Insight, Lending Tree and the likes have drawn congruent conclusions. This corroborated data is only a telltale sign that consumers are truly mindful of their purchases.

To remain competitive in overcrowded markets, companies tend to use buzz words and attention-grabbers such as “organic”, “compostable” and “plant-based”. These claims are oftentimes not backed by any certification and can be categorized as greenwashing.

HISTORY

The use of the term greenwashing dates back to the 1980s. It was coined by environmental activist, Jay Westervelt during his stay at a hotel that requested guests to reuse towels in an attempt to be energy efficient. Westervelt noticed that no other measures had been taken at the property to ‘save the environment’; he believed the hotel was trying to cut costs by not washing towels as regularly and were hiding behind the ‘eco-friendly’ label.

Today, multinational conglomerates such as Coca-cola and Unilver are also guilty of greenwashing.

Now that “greenwashing” has made the headlines long enough for the general public to understand and recognize it, companies have adopted more sophisticated marketing strategies.

Greencrowding can be described as hiding in a group and moving at the speed of the slowest adopter of sustainability policies.

Greenlighting is highlighting a particularly green feature of the company’s operations or products.

Greenshifting is when companies imply that the consumer is at fault and shift the blame on to them.

Greenrinsing is when a company regularly changes its ESG targets before they are achieved.

Greenhushing is when companies consciously make the choice to under-report or hide their green or ESG credentials to avoid scrutiny

Another week, another buzz word. In this blog, we’ll dig deep into the phenomenon of “shrinkflation” – the brainchild of 2022’s monster inflation.
Shrinkflation, also known as downsizing, is practiced to counteract the rising costs of ingredients, packaging, labour and transportation. In other words, to mask the effect of high-cost pressures and maintain lower prices, brands choose to “redesign” their packaging and marginally reduce packaging sizes without changing prices. 
Another method of realizing shrinkflation is launching limited edition packages housing the same product in either lesser quantity, smaller packaging or both. Cheaper alternatives for packaging material may also be used. 
In other cases, production costs rise without the prevalence of inflation which can also lead to the adoption of shrinkflation. 
The reason shrinkflation has gained popularity as a concept, especially one that is understood by the consumers and common man, is because of the recent, regular disruptions in supply chain due to the pandemic as well as the Russia-Ukraine war. These disruptions have caused price fluctuations that have needed to be accommodated. 
Shrinkflation has also become commonplace because both manufacturers and retail brands have learnt that slightly smaller sizes are easier to justify than higher prices.
Because of the negative connotation of the term shrinkflation, companies feel the need to get creative with how they market the changes they make and how that change can be communicated as “value-added”.
Oftentimes, companies would use the term “Pack Price Architecture”, which is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of changes to their products and packaging, including shrinkflation.
The most noteworthy aspect of the practice of shrinkflation is that when production costs do finally go down for the company, they are unlikely to go back to the original size or lower the price of their product simply because their consumers are now trained to expect the new size and price!
 

Printing embellishments and bespoke finishes are usually factored into the design of luxury goods packaging to improve shelf presence and mirror the quality that is promised by the price point. Big-ticket items such as watches and perfumes, especially when marketed to an audience that seeks opulence and regality in appearance, need to meet the expectations of their customers with apropos branding and packaging.

Many different techniques are used to beautify packaging – those that add more dimensions and textures.

In this blog, we will detail some of these techniques.

EMBOSSING

Embossing is a surface treatment process that results in the raising of a specific part of the packaging. It can be performed on metal, leather, cardboard with the use of plates or dies. The surface that is to be embossed is placed in between the male and female plates. Heat and pressure are applied and culminates in the permanently lifted portion. This is known as blind emboss.
Glass can also be embossed using embossing glue, powder and a heat source. 

Glass can also be embossed using embossing glue, powder and a heat source.

DEBOSSING

Debossing is the opposite of embossing. To create a recessed effect, the design is imprinted into the surface, creating a depression. A single die is used as opposed to two.

Both embossing and debossing work best with simple designs.

FOIL STAMPING

As detailed in our Crash Course on the same subject, foil stamping uses heat, pressure and stamping foil to create an inimitable finish that refracts light.

If heat is not applied, cold foiling can be done as part of the offset printing process.

When an emboss is combined with ink or foil to alter the appearance of your embossed image, it is called a registered or combination emboss.

Anti-counterfeiting packaging is a growing market with a steady stream of funds being pumped into its research and development. Stepping into the Web3 era, it is redundant to say that blockchain-based systems present a lucrative and promising opportunity to ameliorate the functionality of anti-counterfeiting technology.

In this blog, we will explore the role of blockchain in expanding the applicability of anti-counterfeiting technology in security systems, supply chain management and customer engagement.

The trade of luxury products is rife with counterfeit. Upon analysis of both statistical and empirical data, the shortcomings of the manufacturing and distribution process included the inadequacy of information relayed to the consumers which renders them helpless in differentiating between originals and imitations. In 2017 alone, the total global loss of counterfeit products (including loss of brands, jobs, and consumers’ health and safety) was US $1.2 trillion. The luxury products industry accounts for 60–70% of all counterfeit transactions, far exceeding the values of the pharmaceutical and entertainment industries. [1]

The crucial features of anti-counterfeiting technology have been narrowed down to irreplicable, traceable and decentralized. Considering decentralized and blockchain are synonymous to many who have patchy knowledge about the later, it is only expected of experts to exploit the offerings of the shared database system.

Smart contract technology has been employed to curb data forgery and tampering. According to IBM, smart contracts are simply programs stored on a blockchain that are automatically executed when predetermined conditions are met.

To make processes more transparent for the consumers, information about the production, sales and raw materials needs to be conveyed to them.

Examples of optimal applications include cases in which product manufacturers and raw material suppliers reach an agreement on the supply of raw materials through smart contracts, or product manufacturers and product distributors reach an agreement on the sale of products through smart contracts. The use of such technology will ensure that consumers and third parties are able to trace the production and circulation history of products at any time.

Anti-counterfeiting technology has not been a new feat or disruptive in any way in 2022.  What has burgeoned, however, are its highly specialized applications and several noteworthy technological tweaks optimized for specific industries and commodities.

In this blog, we will analyze how anti-counterfeiting technology has championed multiple niches through examples.

1. Textile Industry

A fiercely global industry, textile manufacturing and trading is afflicted with a multitude of concerns including production overruns, parallel trading, counterfeiting and return fraud.

To support ethical and authentic movement in these constantly growing markets and to tackle the abovementioned issues, solutions need to be created and provided to manufacturers and traders to have full control over the supply chain and brand protection. Manufacturers also need to be supplied with the means to efficiently trace and confidently index all movement of products. Supplemented consumer awareness on how to authenticate their purchases plays a key role in curbing the sale of counterfeit goods.

Counterfeiting is not only illegal and unethical but, many a times, makes use of harmful substances in the duplication process. Any risk posed to the consumers by the possession and use of these products has been highly amplified recently due to an increase in rife use of toxins.

To counter all efforts to distribute frugal copies of their products and designs, many brands have adopted the use of software-generated, custom-designed labels. These labels are embedded with overt, covert and forensic feature to add multiple layers of security and safeguard the brand image and authority. The labels can also be supplemented with QR codes and NFC tags to generate smart labels.

Mathematical algorithms are combined with intricate design features such as Guilloche, Relief, Anti-copy, Latent image and Microtext to create non-duplicable images.

Chemical tracers, that can only be detected by dedicated scanner and not UV/IR, are inorganic markers with high physical and chemical resistance that have been applied to anti-counterfeiting technology.

NanoMatriX, Applied DNA Science, and Grafe Advanced Polymers GmbH are all manufacturers of security tech.

Polycarbonate is a transparent, amorphous thermoplastic. It is a lightweight yet strong material that is resistant to impact and fracture and has widely been used to replace glass due to similar physical properties; both materials allow for natural internal transmission of light in similar capacities. Polycarbonate also has great heat and cold resistance and can be combined with other flame-retardant materials without significant material degradation.

Other features of Polycarbonate include:

• Pliability: It can be formed at room temperature without cracking or breaking, like aluminium sheets
• Insulation: Polycarbonate is an effective insulator against heat and electricity.
• Natural UV filter: Polycarbonate blocks almost the entire relevant UV spectrum, including UVA and UVB, and does not allow it to be transmitted through.
• Chemical resistance: Polycarbonate exhibits good chemical resistance against diluted acids, aliphatic hydrocarbons and alcohols and moderate chemical resistance against oils and greases. PC is readily attacked by diluted alkalis, aromatic and halogenated hydrocarbons.
• Polymer blends: It is widely used in blends, such as PC/ABS, PC/ PET, PC/PMMA as it has a stabilizing effect on polyolefins against thermal degradation. In other cases, Polycarbonate has helped reduce melt viscosity and enhance crystallinity of the of the blended polymer.

Polycarbonate is similar to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic) but stronger and also more expensive.

Impact resistance and transparency are the two spotlighted characteristics of Polycarbonate that drive the decision-making process of choosing ideal use cases. Some common applications include use in medical devices, greenhouses, eyewear, protective gear, etc. It is also commonly used for prototyping due to its pliability. Polycarbonate can also be used to print 3D models for high heat applications.

In the packaging industry, Polycarbonate is usually found in water bottles, baby bottles, tableware, and food storage containers. The softer yet tough, semi-opaque form of PC is used to make plastic boxes and containers. Polymer lacquers, used to protect metal surfaces, can also be manufactured using Polycarbonate.

Polycarbonates are used in food packaging as components of multilayer co-extrusions and co-injections mouldings. Large returnable and refillable bottles are usually made of polycarbonate.

To a layman, PE and PET can be rather confusing; they are both thermoplastics and they both contain the word polyethylene in their names!

In this blog, we will list some basic differences as well as similarities in the structure, characteristics and apposite application of the two subsets of plastics.

Unlike PET, PE can vary in its crystalline structure that thus dictates the properties of the resin.

The most comparable type of PE to PET would be High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). Both PET and HDPE are very popular for manufacturing plastic bottles. The rigid structure, high strength and chemical resistance make them both great candidates for use in packaging of chemicals and perishable items.

Since PET is difficult to treat with plasticizers and so is BPA and phthalate-free, it is used to food and beverage containers.

Although the melting point of PET is higher than that of HDPE, it has a smaller range of temperature resistance and begins to weaken at a lower temperature than HDPE. HDPE can also withstand lower temperatures than PET.

On the flipside, PET offers better stress crack resistance as well as easier recyclability than HDPE.

PET is lightweight, transparent, pressure resistant and ideal for hot filled beverages like juices, dairy products, sports drinks, etc. Shopping bags, films to package foodstuff, FMCG product and electronic packaging are also manufactured using PET.

HDPE is used to package solid capsules and oral tablets, although PET is still usually the preferred choice. HDPE is commonly used to manufacture crates, barrels, cannisters and pressure pipes, a category that PET is not employed for.

Both plastic types are food-safe, durable and highly recyclable.

Pallets are strategically thin yet sturdy and strong wooden structures that provide a base for loading goods onto transport vehicles as well as maintaining the stack integrity in transit.

During World War II (1939-1945), armies required a system for quickly transporting large quantities of weapons and supplies to troops on the front lines which led to the innovation of modern-day pallets.

Initially introduced in the supply chain industry to replace heavy barrels and crates, which were inefficient and labor intensive to move around, pallets also secure the goods in place and protect them from in-transit damage.

Today, palletization, the act of placing goods on a pallet, is further being optimized to reduce carbon emissions per unit volume good transported a unit distance. Other benefits of palletization include inventory control, improved safety for operators, and overall streamlining.  

In some case, the material and design of the pallets itself are being modified to make the processes of warehousing and transportation more eco-friendly.

Considering palletization is a key process of the supply chain and logistics ecosystem, a sizeable number of resources have been invested by big-ticket companies to improve the concept as a whole.

A valuable realization in the industry was of understanding the importance of packaging design that is “fit-to-size” in encasing the product. When the product occupies most of the packaging dimensions, it not only encourages an eco-friendly practice but also commands more stability in the pallet arrangement.

Many alternatives to the traditional wooden and plastic pallets have now been introduced keeping sustainability in mind. New designs use post-consumer resin or are constructed using composite materials. One can also find eco-pallets made of agricultural waste on the market.

Protective wrapping materials have also been replaces with more environmentally friendly substitutes.

Some argue that pallets and palletization have become obsolete, especially in the retail industry and since the boom of ecommerce; goods are now stored in boxes since SKUs are lower and orders are smaller.

In 2022, we are no strangers to the concept of the 3Rs and how they form the crux of sustainable measures in the packaging industry. Manufacturers and designers are constantly attempting to improve recycling rates and distribute products that have considerable, safe reusability.

Now the classic dilemma, answered by many but not very successfully, is whether reusing or recycling is better for the environment.

In this blog, we will list the pros and cons of both reusing and recycling and hopefully elucidate the subject a bit further.

REUSING

Pros over Recycling

• Less energy consumption (usually only in cleaning the product/material)
• No material wastage, in most cases
• No third party required
• Time-efficient
• Inexpensive
• Much easier to practice at the consumer level

Cons

• Lower feasibility to design every product/material to be reusable
• Can raise questions about hygiene and safety
• Requires initiative at a personal level
• Harder to monitor, measure the extent of and keep tabs on

RECYCLING

Pros over Reusing

• Job creation
• Medium of bringing the community together and raising awareness by involving users in the process of mindful sorting of waste, conscious drop-off of recyclables for curbside collection, etc.

Cons

• Is still polluting
• Requires the establishment of multiple, efficient systems to be seamlessly in place (collection stations and routes, sorting plants, recycling plants, manufacturing plants)
• Costly and time consuming
• Material wastage and overall waste generation

Recently, an EU directive draft setting targets for reusability of packaging was met with rife criticism from manufacturers as well as FMCG brands as they believe it is both far-reaching and counterproductive as it undermines existing recycling schemes that have extensively been invested in.

As both the technologies and practices develop and the debate continues, a combination of recycling and reusing is sought after to optimize their sustainable outcomes and ideally, completely eliminate the use of virgin materials.

Dating back to the 18th century in Europe, the use of wooden crates in the shipping industry was also accompanied by an increasing incorporation of wood in buckets, barrels, boxes, buildings, machines, mills, furniture, carts, ships, and even shoes. Fine wooden boxes were used to store precious objects as well as to act as decorative pieces, industrial wooden crates gathered, stored, protected and shipped consumer goods. Wooden carts used wooden wheels to ship inventory more locally.

The primary reason behind the interest in using wood as the chief material in shipping containers was attributed to its strength, sturdiness, thickness, durability reusability and security. For overseas transport, wood served the purpose of withstanding harsh, salty weather and safely delivering the contents.

Wood can resist extreme weather conditions often experienced during international and intercontinental transport; from rainy weather to extreme heat and/or humidity to intense wind, ice and snow. Wooden crates are also easy to stack and can optimize space if filled efficiently.

Three centuries later, wood crates are still one of the world’s most popular shipping solutions. It still has some advantages over the alternative of using steel containers.

Steel is an excellent conductor of heat and allows moist interior air to condense on its surface in temperate climates. Steel is also prone to rust, the prevention of which requires insulation, a costly practice.

Today, wooden containers can also be easily customized and constructed to be lighter than steel. Upon a complete calculation, it is also realized that wooden crates are the most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly option.

Aluminum is widely used in the packaging industry, especially in the primary packaging of foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals as well as medical devices. Its high malleability allows for its use as a foil; it can be easily rolled, folded, and molded around the contents needed to be packed. The thin sheets act as a total barrier against oxygen and light. It is also impermeable to water and water vapor.

Its ability to prevent oxidation and act as a strong barrier against external odors make it the ideal material for the primary packaging of any product that reacts sensitively to oxygen, moisture, and microbes. Aluminum is also widespread in beverage packaging and is many times preferred over alternatives due to the longevity and convenience lent by the use of the material. In addition to all the listed, sought-after properties, aluminum is also lightweight and recyclable.

Aluminum beverage cans are the most recyclable drink pack in the world with an average recycling rate of 69% and can be endlessly recycled without any loss of quality.

Let’s delve into the history of aluminum in packaging and how it came to be one of the most pervasive materials in the industry. France was the first country, in 1903, to produce foil from purified aluminum. In 1907, Robert Victor Neher invented a method to make aluminum foil using the continuous rolling process.

The first foil rolling plant was founded in Switzerland by him and his sons to completely replace tin foil which was previously used. It is produced by rolling aluminum slabs cast from molten aluminum in a rolling mill to the desired thickness.

In 1911, Switzerland–based Tobler began wrapping its chocolate bars in foil. Aluminum foil was first commercially manufactured in the United States to wrap Life Savers, a popular candy brand today, in 1913.

In the early 20th century, aluminum foil was the most expensive packaging material due to the limitation of aluminum smelting technology. During World War II, packaging aluminum foil developed rapidly as it was used as a military packaging material.

The first pre-formed, all-foil food packaging containers appeared on the market in 1948. In the 1950s, aluminum paper and aluminum-plastic composite materials began to appear, and the practicality of aluminum foil developed further.

Jiffy Pop Popcorn, released in 1959, combined a heavy-gauge foil pan and an expandable, light-gauge foil cover to deliver their popping product. In The same year, beer maker Coors replaced its steel can with aluminum ones and was a pioneer.

By the 1970s, the continuous maturity of color printing technology has made the appearance of aluminum foil more attractive.

One recognized drawback of using aluminum is a large amount of energy used to extract new aluminum.

Inks are an integral part of packaging, especially primary packaging either through printing directly on the container or through labels stuck on using adhesives. They provide the means to communicate vital information such as any safety concerns, proper use and storage instructions, manufacturing and company details and add to the aesthetics used to create a brand image.

It is safe to say that packaging would serve a very one-dimensional purpose without the use of inks.

Today’s packaging industry is driven to create more mainstream, sustainable solutions and a large part of those efforts are directed at improving and increasing recyclability. This brings up the issue of degradation of inks during the recycling process and ultimate contamination of the recyclate.  

Let’s delve into how packaging is washed to strip the ink and what exact components of ink are detrimental to the recycling process.

Nitrocellulose has an excellent solvent release and is also compatible with many additives such as platicizers, pigments and resins which is why it is used extensively in inks and is the most common binder in inks for flexible packaging. However, at temperatures above 160°C, nitrocellulose is unstable and in situations where nitrocellulose containing inks are included in plastic that is recycled in extruders at temperatures of over 200°C, this can result in gel-particles in the recyclate or gassing (release of nitrous gases) during the extrusion process. Gassing can interfere with the film forming process.

Many other components of inks also start becoming unstable after crossing 170°C and can pose risks if the recyclate is used in food-contact packaging application. They can also impart slight tints of colours (typically brown). To avoid colour stain, washing-off or deinking prior to extrusion is essential.

Some inks contain polyvinyl chloride resin, which decomposes at temperatures higher than 200°C. Upon decomposition, the resin releases hydrochloric acid into the extruder which corrodes the metal parts.

While wash-off solutions are already in use, deinking still needs to be introduced to the post-consumer recycling market. Such practices ensure the integrity of PCR and safe application especially in food packaging.

Bio-based polymers are produced using renewable resources and are thus aimed to be more environmentally friendly as well as circular in nature. As opposed to conventional, fossil-based or petroleum-derived polymers, replacements that have plant-based origins are expected to be less polluting in terms of both the manufacturing process and disposal.

Extensive research has been conducted over that past decade or so to determine the best possible sources of these renewable raw materials. The considerations have included not only the ease of supply and prolificacy, but also end-of-life treatments, reusability, recyclability and the likes. Other coveted characteristics include biodegradability and composability.

In this blog, we will consider a few examples of the composition of bio-based polymers currently being researched, tested or used.

1. BIO-POLYETHYLENE (Bio-PE)

Microbial PE or green PE can be manufactured from the dehydration of ethanol produced by microbial fermentation. Bioethanol can be derived from sugarcane or other renewable feedstock including sugar beets and starch crops like maize, wood, wheat and corn. Sugarcane juice with high sucrose content is preferred for anaerobic fermentation to synthesize bioethanol. In this case, bio-based polyethylene has exactly the same chemical, physical, and mechanical properties as petrochemical polyethylene.

Natural Bio-Based Polymers

This is a subset class of bio-based polymers which are found naturally, such as proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides (collagen, chitosan, etc.).

2. STARCH

Starch is the end product of photosynthesis in plants. It is a natural carbohydrate-based polymer and is abundantly available in nature from sources including wheat, rice, corn, and potato. Starch would be categorized as a thermoplastic. Addition of plasticizer changes the thermal and mechanical properties of starch as a biopolymer to various degrees. Starch’s molecular structure makes it difficult for it to display ductility; it also suffers from retrogradation which makes it brittle over time. 

3. CELLULOSE

Cellulose is another natural biopolymer. It is found in the cell walls of plants. The primary raw material sources used in the production of cellulosic plastics are cotton fibers and wood. Plant fiber is dissolved in an alkali and carbon disulfide to create viscose. Viscose is then reconverted to cellulose in the form of cellophane following a sulfuric acid and sodium sulfate bath. Currently, there are two processes used to separate cellulose from the other wood constituents (Yan et al. 2009). Both sulfite and pre-hydrolysis kraft pulping, use high pressure and chemicals to separate cellulose from lignin and hemicellulose which leads to an attainment of greater than 97% cellulose purity. The main derivatives of cellulose for industrial purposes are cellulose acetate, cellulose esters (molding, extrusion, and films), and regenerated cellulose for fibers.

Cellulose is a hard polymer and has a high tensile strength of 62 to 500 MPa and elongation of 4% (Bisanda and Ansell 1992; Eichhorn et al. 2001). In order to overcome the inherent processing problems of cellulose, it is necessary to modify, plasticize, and blend with other polymers. The mechanical and thermal properties vary from blend to blend depending on the composition.

Microbes, although too tiny to be seen by the naked eye, are all around us. Bacteria, virus and fungi are all types of microbes.

While the prevalence and interaction of some microbes with other forms of life is necessary for the survival of many species, many other encounters are considered detrimental to the health of both plant and animal cells.

To prevent such forms of negative contact, extensive research is conducted on antimicrobial packaging, especially to maintain the integrity and extend the shelf life of food contents.

Ever since the COVID pandemic, there has been a heightened sense of awareness of food safety and packaging contamination during the multiple stages and processes involved in supply chain. The use of antimicrobial packaging also reduces food waste by increasing shelf life.  

In the past decade or so, various additives, extracted from natural and synthetic agents, are used in addition to the primary polymeric constituent of the packaging to induce antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant) activities. 

The addition of such agents allows antimicrobial packaging to be categorized as active packaging.

Microbial growth is controlled by the introduction ethylene, moisture and oxygen absorbers in the headspace of the packaging.

Antimicrobial agents range from spices and chitosan to isolated enzymes. Chemical antimicrobial agents include ascorbic acid, potassium permanganate and other zeolites and metals. These agents continuously interact with and modify the environment inside the packaging. This interaction ensures the maintenance of suitable conditions to slow down senescence.    

Today, most antimicrobial packaging is also either biodegradable, compostable, biopolymer-based or edible or combines more than one of these features.

Different antimicrobial agents have different activities on different pathogenic microorganisms due to their various diverse physiologies.

Next week’s blog will detail a few natural and chemical antimicrobial agents and discuss how their biological composition and interaction with certain foods and packaging types curb microbial growth.