A Small Tie for Baby Products, a Big Leap for Packaging Sustainability

Munchkin is reducing its plastic packaging use in a big way by swapping out the smallest of components — a tie that secures products to paperboard backings.

Owned by Los Angeles-based WHY Brands, Munchkin specializes in baby lifestyle products such as tableware, bath toys, bottle warmers, and pacifiers.

As part of an ambitious sustainability effort, the company recently redesigned its packaging to use more recycled paper and significantly less plastic.

Packaging before (left) and after replacing plastic zip/cable ties after new paper ties. Image: WHY Brands / Munchkin

Eliminating plastic ties was a fundamental part of the strategy. “Paper ties replaced the plastic zip/cable ties we used previously and allowed us to keep the product in place without the full-coverage PET thermoform that we used,” says Diana Barnes, chief brand officer and creative director of WHY Brands.

“Our goal was to reduce 40% of plastic packaging content by the end of 2024, and we have already achieved that, thanks to actions such as this,” she adds. The 40% percent reduction is based on Munchkin’s plastic packaging use in 2021, when the company published its first sustainability report.

So far, 27 stock-keeping units (SKUs), mainly utensils and bath toys, have been affected by the tie replacement, and the packaging redesign is ongoing. The previous packaging for 19 of those SKUs included a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoform; for the other eight, a plastic tie secured the product to paperboard backing.

A two-part tie system.

The packaging redesign uses the paper tie to attach products to hang cards and paperboard box inserts. Product categories include bath, utensils, tableware, cups, and travel.

To make sure the paper tie would hold products firmly in place, Munchkin developed a design that pairs the tie with a paper pulp-molded backing plate. The tie slips through holes in the backing plate and is knotted. The plate reinforces the paper tie and prevents tearing.

The paper tie is a stock item sold by the company’s regular suppliers, and the backing plate is a custom Munchkin design.
So why paper? “Plastic has toxic substances in every stage of its life cycle. While paper has its own issues in the manufacturing process, they are not on the same scale as plastic,” Barnes explains.
“Unlike plastics, paper is one of, if not the most, recycled material, so the ties and backing plates have the potential of moving through a circular material life cycle” or breaking down in the environment without plastic’s adverse effects, she adds.

LCAs validate the choice of paper.

To quantify the packaging redesign’s sustainability gains, Munchkin conducted several Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of paper-based materials and plastics.

The LCAs compared the previous packaging — comprising paperboard card, PET blister, and plastic ties — to the new packaging format of paper card/insert and paper ties.

The paper ties “did the heavy work on eliminating the most wasteful component, the PET blister,” Barnes says. “We estimate that our [paper] ties alone eliminate 133,091 lb of plastic annually.”

In addition, by phasing-out both plastic zip ties and PET blisters, the company reduced its annual carbon dioxide output by 794,766 lb. Most of that reduction is related to eliminating PET blisters.

Based on these and other LCA metrics, Munchkin concluded that paper packaging’s total environmental impact, from production to recycling, is preferable to that of plastic packaging.

As the company states in its 2024 sustainability report, “The results are clear: Paper is superior to plastic. It’s less harmful to produce and easier to recycle. It’s also a regenerative resource, meaning we can always plant more trees.”