The company plans to expand these finishing techniques to more global supplier factories for the fall 2011 collection.
NextLife, CardPak Partner on Sustainable Packaging
by: Environmental Leader, 2010-11-03 16:46:46 UTC
Packaging solution providers NextLife and CardPak are partnering to deliver more sustainable paperboard packaging choices to retailers. Under the partnership, CardPak will become the first carded packaging converter to promote NextLife Packaging Group’s 100-percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) PET blisters for club and warehouse retail packaging.
NextLife Packaging Group provides a range of sustainable packaging solutions to consumer product companies, retail brands and retailers through a select network of manufacturing partners. The network provides branded packaging, resins and materials containing up to 100-percent PCR content for both food and non-food applications, together with life cycle assessments and marketing support.
“Our clients have been very satisfied with using NextLife’s 100-percent PCR PET for blisters and clamshells with no change in performance, quality and consistency when used in conjunction with our cards or ClubPak products,” said Tony Petrelli, president of CardPak, in a statement.
Sustainable packaging is gaining momentum in the retail industry thanks to big players like Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. Leading the way is Wal-Mart, which first rolled out a packaging scorecard that rates suppliers on their sustainability in 2008.
Whole Foods Market recently joined the movement and rolled out new responsible packaging guidelines to all of its more than 2,100 body care and supplement suppliers companywide. All new body care and supplement suppliers must meet the packaging guidelines before their products can be sold in one of the company’s more than 300 locations in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
In 2010, 27 percent of products at major US retailers are estimated to have sustainable packaging. By 2015, this figure is projected to reach 37 percent, according to the latest issue of EL Insights.
The global market for sustainable packaging is projected to reach $142.42 billion by 2015, according to a recent report from Global Industry Analysts (GIA). Growth drivers include increased awareness about environmental hazards related to disposal and recycling of packaging wastes, government initiatives to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and stringent regulations.
HP, Unilever, Kraft Foods Leverage Sonoco Packaging to Cut Materials, Energy Use, Emissions
by: Environmental Leader, 2010-11-04 15:44:32 UTC
Several of Sonoco’s customers, including HP, Unilever, Kraft Foods and PJ’s Coffee, are reporting significant savings in materials resources as well as cuts in carbon emissions and energy use and improved recyclability use thanks to the company’s sustainable packaging design software and recycling services.
Sonoco says its True Blue line of sustainable packaging solutions and recycling services require less energy, water and/or raw materials to produce or result in fewer carbon emissions.
As an example, Sonoco developed three-ply, foil-based flexible coffee bags for PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans, that require 10 percent less material and 15 percent less energy to produce, resulting in 10 percent fewer carbon emissions than traditional four-ply flexible coffee bags.
Sonoco also helped Kraft Foods convert its Maxwell House, Nabob and Yuban brands of coffee from metal cans to more environmentally-friendly rigid paperboard containers without sacrificing abuse resistance or shelf life.
The new cans are made from paperboard that contains more than 50 percent recycled materials and has received chain-of-custody certification from the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program. The new package also reduced the brands’ materials use, energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Kraft Foods has been making significant efforts towards reducing product packaging, reaching its goal of cutting 150 million pounds of material from its supply chain two years ahead of schedule.
Mother Parkers is also making the switch to Sonoco’s rigid paper container from coffee cans for its Brown Gold, Martinson and private label brands, which will increase the overall recycled content of the package and reduce material weight by 27 percent, energy inputs by 34 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, reports R&D Magazine.
The food and beverage industry has been releasing a greater number of sustainable products over the past few years to meet growing demand from environmentally-conscious consumers and retailers to lower the environmental impact of their packaging.
In another example, Unilever cut packaging costs and reduced its environmental footprint by working with Sonoco Global Plastics to redesign the packaging of its Suave brand of shampoo and conditioners. The new packaging improved the overall strength of the bottles and reduced the resin required to produce the bottles by 16 percent.
Sonoco also redesigned an existing floorstand wing unit for Unilever’s Vaseline Sheer Infusion body lotion, which cut the paperboard required to produce the display in half from 65.2 to 32.65 square feet.
One of Sonoco’s new protective packaging designs for Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet printers reduced the volume of foam required by more than half, cut the pack’s corrugated weight by 69 percent and decreased overall packaging volume by 52 percent. In addition, most of the pack’s components are made from recycled paperboard, so it’s easier to recycle than the previous protective packaging, says Sonoco.
Sonoco is also converting the world’s leading infant formulas from metal cans to composite cans, which average 50 percent recycled content by weight and provide the same performance as traditional metal cans in abuse resistance and shelf life, according to the company.
Sonoco is also helping customers reduce landfill waste through its Sonoco Sustainability Solutions (S3) waste-reduction consulting service. As an example, by identifying recycling alternatives for materials being sent to landfills and developing a more comprehensive recycling program at Unilever’s Lipton Tea plant in Suffolk, Va., the plant became a zero landfill facility in 2009.
Businesses Stay the Course on Sustainability
by: Environmental Leader, 2010-11-04 16:35:35 UTC
More than eight in 10, or 84 percent, of survey respondents are somewhat or very optimistic that global businesses will embrace corporate social responsibility (CSR)/sustainability as part of their core strategies and operations over the next five years, despite an uncertain global economy, according to a poll released by BSR.
The report also reveals that 94 percent of the 377 survey respondents, drawn from a majority of BSR’s global network of more than 250 member companies, believe their companies plan to maintain or increase their budgets for CSR/sustainability programs in the year ahead, and nearly 75 percent expect to increase the amount of internal and external CSR/sustainability communications as well.
The report, “BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2010” (PDF), also finds that climate change, workers’ rights and human rights are top priorities. Climate change remains an important focus of these efforts, with 63 percent of respondents selecting it more than any other issue as either a “significant” or “very significant” priority, says BSR.
However, the proportion of respondents who considered it a “very significant” priority declined from 41 percent in 2009 to 27 percent this year, a drop from first on the list to third.
Social issues advanced in the rankings this year, with workers’ rights taking the most notable jump, moving to the top of the list of “very significant” priorities (selected by 32 percent) for companies’ CSR/sustainability efforts in the year ahead, followed by human rights (31 percent), climate change (27 percent), and water quality/availability (19 percent) on the list of “very significant” priorities.
Respondents believe that business continues to experience a lack of trust from the public and identified three actions companies need to take to address this gap: measuring and demonstrating positive social and environmental impacts (selected by 54 percent of respondents), increasing the transparency of business practices, (53 percent), and responding promptly and effectively to accidents, product quality issues, and other incidents (43 percent).
Responses to the questions of which three areas are companies demonstrating the most leadership today, and the three actions that will drive ongoing business success, yielded the same top three responses, says BSR.
These are creating innovative products and business models designed for sustainability (selected by 40 percent for leadership, and 66 percent for business success), followed by measuring and demonstrating positive social and environmental impacts (selected by 39 percent for both), and responding promptly and effectively to accidents, product quality issues, and other incidents (35 percent and 39 percent, respectively).
The survey was released at the start of the BSR Conference 2010.
In other sustainability news, Trucost announced its collaboration with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Supply Chain program that will enable members of the CDP Supply Chain to use Trucost’s environmental data to identify their most carbon intensive suppliers for inclusion in the disclosure process.
CDP Supply Chain currently works with 56 of the largest organizations worldwide, including Wal-mart, PepsiCo and IBM, to help them engage with their suppliers to understand risks and opportunities throughout the supply chain.
More than half (56 percent) of Carbon Disclosure Project members surveyed earlier this year said that in the future they would stop doing business with suppliers that do not manage their carbon.
The Crate Series by Studio Makkink & Bey
by: Dezeen, 2010-11-04 13:02:27 UTC
Dutch designers Studio Makkink & Bey present furniture and household appliances combined with packing crates at Spring Projects in London. (more…)
Exercise Sticks?
by: Yanko Design, 2010-11-03 10:39:06 UTC
The el:Dudy is an all around hand-held exercise system for “older” people. Each has a bevy of motion sensors and accelerometers to accurately track progress. All the information is sync’d and stored on your computer or phone via bluetooth Real Snazzy eh? This looks so cool. I can handle wrist twists and I love anything that helps stretches me out. And since when did massage become exercise? I’m not “old” but sign me up. Preventative measures people!
Designer: Chan Po Yee
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'red list with red fonts' by attila ángyán - endangered species graphic design competition
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2010-11-03 16:00:00 UTC
'red list with red fonts' by attila ángyán
'red list with red fonts' by attila ángyán from hungary is one of the shortlisted entries
from more than 2000 participants in the 'endangered species' graphic design competition,
organized by designboom in collaboration with tokyo designers week 2010.
this shortlisted entry consists of a new font style that integrates graphic representations
of 26 threatened animal species with a letter of the alphabet.
designer's own words:
'I have prepared a new font style which has characters that were inspired by various kinds
of threatened animal species, resulting in an interactive piece of design for users.
what is the symbol of this font style? what could we do if we run out of letters and words?'
Stirling Engine Made with Soda Cans Spins to 860 RPM (Video)
by: TreeHugger Science, 2010-11-04 18:11:17 UTC
Photo: Youtube
You Can Use the Sun as a Source of Heat
Stirling engines are a type of heat engine. They convert heat into mechanical work (you can find out more about how they work here), which means that it is possible to use the sun as a source of heat to general clean power. The video below shows a working stirling engine build out of soda cans that spins up to almost a thousand RPM!... Read the full story on TreeHugger
Study Shows How Lithium-Ion Batteries Age & Degrade
by: TreeHugger Science, 2010-11-01 21:16:48 UTC
Photo: GM, Chevy Volt lithium-ion battery.
Understanding Why So We Can Hopefully Do Something About It
Researchers at the Ohio State University have been testing lithium-ion batteries, the kind used in the latest electric and hybrid vehicles, to find out how and why their performance degrades with age and use. The OSU lab is set up so that the batteries can be charged and discharged many times in difference conditions (hot like Arizona, cold like Alaska) over many months, mimicking real-world usage patterns as closely are possible.... Read the full story on TreeHugger
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