Welcome to this week’s ThePackHub Innovation Zone snapshot.

ThePackHub collates 20 new packaging innovations each week and we have picked four recent examples for you to peruse below.

Find out about how to subscribe here.

Book a 15 minute online demo here.

ThePackHub’s Sustainable Packaging Compendium is out now. Find out more and order here. If you would like to download a free sample report, please let us know.

You can click here to subscribe to ThePackHub’s blogs.

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Sustainable Packaging Compendium

Earlier this year, ThePackHub Sustainable Compendium was launched. The essential guide to sustainable packaging included a comprehensive summary of over 450 important sustainable innovations, exclusive industry research, supplier guide detailing the packaging industry’s major contacts and a Who’s Who of the sustainable packaging companies.

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#1 Hair product range can be planted post use to grow your own tree

There are many ways to create a sustainable point of difference. The Innovation Zone has reported on many examples that attempt to reduce packaging’s impact on the environment. Biodegradable and compostable solutions have been prevalent in recent months. A solution from Taiwan hair product brand O’right takes this concept to another level. The business has developed a pack that, once used, can be planted to turn into a tree. The bottle has been developed using compostable material. There is a cavity at the bottom of the bottle that has seeds from the Taiwanese acacia tree. Once in the environment, within a year, the bottle will have degraded into the soil and the start of a tree should start to show. The brand has just entered the Portuguese market and is available in selected retail outlets and pharmacies.

More info in The Innovation Zone.

#2 Surplus soft rush plant has variety of potential packaging applications

Packaging for food items such as crisps and chocolate wrappers as well as pharmaceutical blister packs are all extremely difficult to recycle as they are comprised of multiple layers. Researchers from Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania and Egypt have combined to develop a new technique to tackle one of the Holy Grails of packaging. The team are working on a solution to separate multi layer packaging that is reported to recycle 99% of materials. They have developed a process that uses a hydrophilic solvent to break the layers apart. The exact structure varies according to the product.The team used the solvent  to break the layers apart and used ultrasonic treatment to accelerate the separation process. The main idea behind the technology is to break the mechanical and chemical bonds between all the layers.  It is reported that the recovered materials are of a higher quality than traditional recycling methods.

More info in The Innovation Zone.

#4 Easy sliding function opens and seals beverage cans

Worldwide production for drink cans is approximately 370 billion cans per year worldwide. Austin, Texas based beverage packaging innovators SNSTech has introduced a new plastic-free closure for some of those beverage cans. SipNShut is fully recyclable and made from 100% aluminium. SipNShut allows consumers to take a previously opened drinks cans on the go in the same way they would a plastic bottle. The patented technology is designed to run on existing high speed canning lines. The solution has a sliding function to easily open and close the can to deliver a smooth pour.  Most of the existing reclosable can solutions on the market combine plastic and metal, which reduces opportunities for recycling and often don’t work well on existing canning lines. The design is expected to hit shelves in the US in the next 12 months.

More info in The Innovation Zone.

Join our new sustainable packaging Facebook group More Plastic Than Fish and be part of the conversation.  Join here.

Please visit ThePackHub or call us on +44(0)118 963 9990 to find out more about the range of packaging innovation services we offer. We’ve delivered projects for a number of brand owner, retailer and packaging suppliers.

Until next time. Happy innovating.

Welcome to this week’s ThePackHub Innovation Zone snapshot.

ThePackHub collates 20 new packaging innovations each week and we have picked four recent examples for you to peruse below.

Find out about how to subscribe here.

Book a 15 minute online demo here.

ThePackHub’s Sustainable Packaging Compendium is out now. Find out more and order here. If you would like to download a free sample report, please let us know.

Please forward this to your friends and colleagues to benefit from staying up to date with the latest packaging innovation news.  They can click here to subscribe.

#1 Reusable packaging system reduces packaging demand for Chinese e-commerce giant

The rapidly growing e-commerce sector is coming under increased pressure to ensure that it does not use unnecessary packaging materials in customer shipments. Chines e-commerce giant JD.com is aiming to improve its environmental position with the introduction of a reusable packaging programme.  JD’s reusable green boxes are made of recycled plastic and can be used around 10 times for small- and medium-sized shipments. The reusable box is not mandatory but users are incentivised to utilise them with JD’s “Jingdou” loyalty points, which can be exchanged for products on their website. The company said it expects to reduce the number of boxes used throughout its supply chain by a whopping 10 billion by 2020. JD.com is working on expanding its reusable packaging network to several new major Chinese cities. See also: New delivery box offers range of sustainable features.

More info in The Innovation Zone.

#2 Washing up bottle caps made from 50% post-consumer recycled PP

Smyrna, Georgia based labels printer Quality Tape and Label (QTL) has worked with HP to progress the latter’s new Collage format for the King of Pops natural frozen treats brand. Uniquely designed wrappers for a new Halloween Edition were produced on HP Indigo using HP SmartStream Collage, HP new automated variable design software, to produce tens of thousands of uniquely designed wrappers. King of Pops’ Halloween series features unique wrappers for five different flavours and affords the brand the ability to create virtually endless variations of a set of basic design elements. A plug-in for using Adobe Illustrator, Collage works within SmartStream Designer to take design elements and distribute them randomly by algorithm according to set rules laid down by the brand.

More info in The Innovation Zone.

#4 Two condiments in one pack for dual chamber solution

Not for the first time, the Innovation Zone can report on a pack development that incorporates two compartments to offer consumers a mix of contents in the same pack. A Kiev, Ukraine based design and development company have come up with a new dual chamber pack to make consumers’ lives that little bit easier. The company and the product is called Duopack and the solution gives users two compartments with the opportunity for different contents in the same single flexible package. The process of manufacturing the flexible Doy-pack based packaging has been patented. Duopack has a partition in the middle of the pouch that divides the products into two isolated parts. The consumer can use the pack to alternately dispense the foods or condiments according to their taste. There is also the opportunity to dispense the contents together to create a mixture of both. See also Side-by-side pack keeps on-the-go snacking varied.

More info in The Innovation Zone.

Join our new sustainable packaging Facebook group More Plastic Than Fish and be part of the conversation.  Join here.

Please visit ThePackHub or call us on +44(0)118 963 9990 to find out more about the range of packaging innovation services we offer. We’ve delivered projects for a number of brand owner, retailer and packaging suppliers.

Until next time. Happy innovating.