Time To Think Differently About Plastic & Packaging

Plastic was once mooted as a wonder product for humanity. Its low cost and boundless applications have made it so versatile for manufacturers, producers and packaging designers. Today, the conversation is changing and our perspective is somewhat different. The same manufacturers, producers and packaging designers are thinking differently as we count the cost to the climate and the pollution of our physical environment. We are in a new era. 

First some context; In 1950 we were creating around 2.3 million metric tons of plastic (National Geographic). In 2023 we are expected to produce around 380 million metric tonnes (PlasticOceans.org), with the global industry worth over half a trillion dollars. If we don’t address it, that figure is projected to double by 2040, and with it a substantial increase in the amount of plastic ending up in the oceans. Some sources believe this could be in excess of a staggering 150 million metric tons. 

The time is now to rethink our approach to plastic across borders and traditional political divides and campaigners, governments, companies and brands are coming together to drive a new path forwards. Yet there doesn’t seem to be a scramble and there is clarity, purpose and action evident around the world, with new taxes, incentives and moral impetus. Of course, with the right motivation innovators come forwards with solutions for replacing plastic. 

Is Sylvicta Translucent Paper The New Packaging Wonder Product? 

Paper is considered a sustainable solution for the flexible packaging market, being biodegradable and easily recycled, and its demand is on the rise as consumers are increasingly demanding different from brands in particular.  

Made from a natural product and sourced from sustainable forests, it has allowed innovators to create new more environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic.  

Arjowiggins is proud to be one such innovator and has developed Sylvicta, a translucent clean paper with wide-ranging packaging applications allowing designers to replace plastic with paper whether for food-contact or luxury packaging and also for electronics and labels. 

Specialist, sustainable and eco-friendly paper products, like Sylvicta, can now significantly reduce or replace plastics in packaging. What’s more, they can have a net positive impact on the environment.  

In this new era, Sylvicta is a game-changer for the packaging industry and is proving transformational for brands intently working towards Net-Zero targets and looking to avoid the pitfalls of new legislation which will tax packaging in new ways.  

For eco-conscious brand owners, retailers and converters, Sylvicta brings added promotional benefits by being a natural paper and compostable, all thanks to being made free from harmful chemicals (including PFAS), meeting the circular economy model of make, use, recycle and reuse. 

Of course, paper cannot meet all plastic-in-packaging challenges, but faced with growing eco-conscious demand, there is growing innovation in the marketplace and there is a new generation of sustainable packaging solutions out there.

How Is Paper Sustainable? 

At face value, paper is made from harvesting trees from forests, suggesting this may be counter-productive to environmental causes. However, the facts are reassuringly positive and paper fits seamlessly into the circular economy model of make, use, recycle and reuse. Wood, from which pulp is created to make paper, is an extraordinary natural and renewable material , especially when sourced from respected forestry certification schemes which ensure that virgin fibre originates from sustainable sources. Pulp used to produce Sylvicta is sourced from forests managed by either the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification™ (PEFC™) Wood offers a simple way to reduce the CO2 emissions that are the main cause of climate change, through: 

• the carbon sink effect of the forests;
• the carbon storage effect of wood products;
• substitution for carbon-intensive materials (e.g plastic)

In past, over the last century, Europe’s forests have grown by a third and it has become a much greener continent than it was 100 years ago. The paper industry is one reason for this with soft and hardwood timber being used for the manufacture of paper.  

For more information, please see https://www.twosides.info/myths-and-facts 

Sylvicta is manufactured by Arjowiggins and is available now. You can find out more about its values, applications and versatility here >