Berry and Glatfelter Announce Regulatory Milestone in Proposed Transaction for Spin-Off and Merger of Berry’s Health, Hygiene and Specialties Global Nonwovens and Films Business with Glatfelter

A great deal is required of today's packaging materials. Brands are expected to be on top of things, choosing packaging with many factors – safety, recyclability, functionality, and product appeal – in mind. Furthermore, choosing the right packaging can be an important aspect of a brand's marketing strategy. So, what’s in it for brands and the packaging industry if they decided to switch bio-based plastics like PEF? Sustainability is one of the most cited factors in defence of changing to bioplastics. The good new is, it is not the only one. In this article, we take a look at four major advantages of switching PEF – and look at different aspects for packaging companies and brand owners. 1. A fossil-free alternative - As we all probably know by now, the use of plastic is associated with many problems, like the release of fossil carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at its end-of-life. In addition, one of the largest bulk plastics worldwide, traditional polyethylene terephthalate (PET), contains fossil-based terephthalic acid (PTA). Switching to its bio-based alternative polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF), which uses furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) instead of PTA, could bring about significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Mondi has collaborated with Silbo to upgrade its pallet wrapping from plastic stretch film to Mondi’s kraft paper Advantage StretchWrap. Silbo has installed the first EW Technology PaperWrap machine at its plant in Żory, Poland and provides more sustainable flexible packaging for its broad range of customers, including those supplying fruits and vegetables. Mondi’s Advantage StretchWrap is made with responsibly sourced fibres and does not contain plastic or coating. Made from wood as a renewable resource, it is fully recyclable in existing paper waste streams, supporting the transition to a circular economy. Mondi commissioned an independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) which showed that Advantage StretchWrap performs better than standard plastic stretch film in several important environmental impact categories. The paper has exceptional puncture-resistance combined with high stretch properties providing robust protection for a wide range of goods during transportation.

Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l. announced it will again raise prices for paper-based tubes and cores, effective from shipments beginning on 24th July 2017. "Prices of coreboard continue to rise, driven by fundamental changes in recovered paper markets. As this trend continues, we are forced to keep pace and apply a further increase to our tubes and cores," said Karsten Kemmerling, Director of Sales and Marketing - Tubes and Cores, Europe. "We continue to invest in our operations to generate manufacturing productivity, but this will not cover the significant increase in material costs. The outlook for the second half of this year could well be a further tightening of material availability and inevitably further price increases for our base raw material."