Interest in reusable packaging swells

Bold sustainable packaging initiatives by Nestlé and TerraCycle that are focused on reusability gained worldwide attention, along with other sustainable developments, from our global audience in February 2019.

Based on page views, here are the top five articles people read last month from Packaging Digest:

5. How Nestlé is innovating its way to 100% recyclable or reusable packaging

The world’s largest food and beverage company has ambitious sustainable packaging goals. Walt Peterson, Nestlé USA’s manager of packaging innovation and sustainability, talked about them in February at WestPack 2019. Here is the 28-minute video of his presentation, where he talks about how Nestlé is harnessing partnerships and cutting-edge technology to get there, including its participation in the ground-breaking Loop initiative (www.loopstore.com). More on Loop is coming up…

NEXT: Sustainable packaging to the power of 10

4. 10 sustainable packaging surprises in 2018

Our annual review of top articles in 2018 about sustainable packaging continues to resonate with Packaging Digest readers, appearing as the fourth best-read article in February 2019. It’s a broad look at the topic, from new technologies and awards to management strategies and emerging trends.

1. Amazon incentivizes brands to create Frustration-Free Packaging

2. L’Oréal’s paper bottle: Easy on the earth but tough in showers

3. 4 sustainable truths impacting food packaging today

4. P&G’s PureCycle cleans recycled PP to ‘near virgin’ quality

5. How Conagra rewards packaging line workers for cutting waste

6. How packaging recyclability can shift sustainability expectations for startup beauty brands

7. Japan’s Kao Group makes sustainability look raku raku (‘so easy’)

8. 5 factors affecting sustainable packaging moving forward

9. 5 environmental advantages of corrugated packaging

10. Sustainable packaging innovators earn kudos

NEXT: Food cans nix BPA linings

3. Most food cans no longer use BPA in their linings

About a year ago, the Can Manufacturers Institute made the bold announcement that, in reaction to market demands for more options in food safety, at least 90% of today’s food cans have replaced linings that previously contained the controversial chemical bisphenol-A (BPA).

The news is still making the rounds.

Reader comments over the last year show that the issue isn’t totally resolved:

Feb. 20, 2018: “I wonder if/when the beverage industry will adopt BPA free liners, as currently none has implemented such liner. Especially considering that consumption of canned beverages far exceeds that of canned foods.”

Nov. 20, 2018: “So WHAT actually IS the Lining Now?”

Dec. 2, 2018: “The linings are most likely closely related to BPA like BPS, BPF or vinyls compounds (BADGE, BFDGE). Those lining haven’t been studied as much and are not known by the general public. Recent studies showed that they are potentially as harmful as BPAs. Companies can put out BPA free cans and give a false sense of security to their customers by switching to other compounds that are as bad but unknown.”

Dec. 29, 2018: “Aldi stores sell spring water in plastic bottles that say right on them that they are BPA free.”

Mar. 4, 2019: “The problem is different sources gives different info on whether BPA is still in cans. Some say that BPA remain in most cans.”

Do you have something to add or ask? Click the headline above and leave your comment at the bottom of the article.

NEXT: What packaging professionals say about Loop’s reusable-packaging model

2. Packaging peers react to Loop’s daring reusable-packaging model

Experts in packaging sustainability and packaging professionals on social media mostly praised the news about Loop, a new circular shopping platform where consumers in Paris and New York can buy popular branded products in durable reusable packaging. (Spoiler Alert! The Loop-announcement article is coming up next. It was the top news of February 2019. This was a follow-up article to that.)

On LinkedIn, the chatter harkened back to the old days when reusability was standard operating procedure:

Robert Lilienfeld says, “Back to the future. And, premium brands are the way to do this, as they have both the margins and interested customer base to be successful.”

Gunther Brinkman shares, “Our grandparents could manage to leave the bottles outside for the milkman, and our children re-use growlers at their favorite micro-brewery. If the economic incentives are there, this is an idea whose time has come.”

Packaging Digest also reached out to industry experts, including Brian Wagner, co-founder and principal, PTIS LLC, who thoughtfully presented a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of this reuse model.

What do you think? Share your comments here or on the article pages.

NEXT: Everything you need to know about Loop and you don’t even need to ask

1. Loop and big brands boldly reinvent waste-free packaging

No surprise that the biggest packaging news of the year, which we posted on Jan. 24, hits our #1 spot for the month of February.

Will Loop be the milkman model for the future? The initiative is a new ecommerce and retail shopping platform where all the products are sold in reusable, recyclable packages—Häagen-Dazs ice cream in a stainless steel pint, Tropicana orange juice in glass bottles, Pantene shampoo in aluminum cylinders.

Our extensive coverage of the news includes a 43-minute video of an interview with Loop inventor Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, along with a Q&A from the TerraCycle team that gives all the pertinent details, such as:

• How Loop was developed and why;

• What the root causes of waste are;

• How Loop challenges the idea of who “owns” product packaging—from consumer back to the brand;

• What Loop’s immediate growth plans are.

If you haven’t heard about Loop yet, click on the headline above to hear about this audacious venture.

You can also click on the “Subscribe” link at the bottom of all our webpages to sign up for Packaging Digest newsletters that are of interest to you so you get news like this as it happens.

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