In This Issue

Report: Secondary packaging under close review With retailers demanding greater value, and bottom lines in need of reduced costs, secondary packaging is under the microscope, according to a November 2008 study from the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute.

Thrive in '09 with insights from Packaging Summit If you want insights on how your packaged brand can survive and prosper in a tough economy in 2009, the IoPP Packaging Summit conference might have the answers you need.

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P&G provides leadership in sustainable packaging journey

By Jim Butschli, Features Editor, Packaging World

We can reach a state where the use of sustainable packaging is the rule rather than the exception if we focus on a handful of major challenges. That's the opinion of Tony Burns, Associate Director, Sustainability, for Procter & Gamble's Global Package and Device Development Group. Burns develops global packaging sustainability initiatives for P&G.

Burns believes that four major, game-changing challenges exist in the drive to package sustainability:

Supply chain reinvention. "We know that our existing supply chains put performance burdens on our packages that limit our ability to reduce material use," Burns says. "This is a long-term goal and will require industry-wide leadership and collaboration, but there are huge benefits if we can reduce the forces on our packages throughout the supply chain."

Recycling. "We need to increase reach and rate," he says. "It's plain and simple—we are throwing valuable resources into landfills that should be recycled. We need to change consumers' mind-sets and improve infrastructures to efficiently collect, separate, and sort materials to drive recycling. This is especially true in the United States."

New materials. "New classes of materials are being developed as we speak. These materials offer the ability to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our packaging and also potentially reduce our dependence on sourcing petroleum-derived materials. They will not be ‘the' solution, but will be an important tool in our packaging engineers' and designers' toolbox," he says.

Industry standards for metrics and measures. "We absolutely need to drive to standardization in our metrics and measures as an industry or we will spend all of our time administering data instead of innovating," Burns says.

"Sustainability is at the core of everything we do in all of our business units; our sustainability focus is not just in packaging, but focuses throughout the entire product/packaging development area," Burns says of P&G's approach. "We have to begin with the basic premise that the product and package meet the needs of the consumers in the most sustainable manner possible, realizing early on in the development process that these decisions carry significant impact."

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Toward that end, the company has appointed sustainability experts—and in some areas teams of experts—on nearly all of its leading brands. Some brands have dedicated packaging engineers leading their sustainability efforts.

In one example, packaging engineers redesigned plastic bottles for Pantene Pro-V, reducing both package weight and material usage without any noticeable change for the consumer. Engineers project to save more than 450 metric tons of plastic per year—equal to more than 13 million Pantene Pro-V bottles. Another change to the pump dispenser in the Olay Total Effects bottle is expected to reduce 800,000 lb of plastic a year—equal to the weight of a Boeing 747.

"About 80% of our consumers tell us that environmental sustainability is important," Burns notes. "That itself is reason for us to engage in this and to meet the needs of the consumers. They may not pay additional money right now for more sustainable packaging, but it's important to them. Whatever benefits they are buying our brands for, we want to make sure that we package that in the most sustainable fashion possible."

Read the full article, as well as sustainability tips and insights from P&G.

Report: Secondary packaging under close review

With retailers demanding greater value, and bottom lines in need of reduced costs, secondary packaging is under the microscope, according to a November 2008 study from the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute. Future evaluations of secondary packaging could impact creative teams' packaging decisions in formulating and executing marketing strategies.

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Every company that participated in the study is re-evaluating their secondary-packaging containers, the report says. They're examining materials, weight, cube size, and ways to fit more into a cubic foot of retail shelf space, says Charles Yuska, PMMI President and CEO.

Sixty-seven consumer packaged goods companies participated in the study, representing the food, beverage, dairy, electronics, and personal-care markets. Other participants included contract packagers and materials suppliers.

Corrugated fiberboard, in particular, is being reviewed closely, the survey reports, because the amount of fiberboard that is used impacts overall costs. According to PMMI's research, 80% of companies are using regular slotted containers (RSCs) for secondary packaging. Within that group, 51% are decreasing usage by 5% to 60%.

"RSC usage is moving to a tray with over wrap or a bliss box," the report says. "Companies already using trays are moving to pads with over wrap, with sustainability goals of moving to shrink wrap only—when applicable to the product."

About 50% of packaging professionals interviewed for the study predict a decrease in corrugated usage; specially designed cartons will fill the void. And 24% of respondents predict no change, believing that packagers will strike a balance between light-weighting and strength. Another contingent, 21%, foresees an increase in the use of corrugated fiberboard material because of Internet sales.

"It's important to note that there can be trade-offs between functionality and costs," Yuska adds. "The packaging professionals we spoke to all agreed that one of their tasks is to balance ‘reduce, reuse, recycle' and not compromise the functionality of the packaging."

Also under consideration, the study finds, are alternative materials and the recycled content in corrugated fiberboard. Each change impacts secondary packaging performance and also the machinery and primary packaging involved.

Multiple factors are driving changes in secondary packaging, the report notes. Sustainability is top-of-mind, with 70% of respondents noting it as a goal in improving their secondary packaging.

The report, "Secondary Packaging Market Research Study," is available for purchase by contacting Paula Feldman at PMMI.

Thrive in '09 with insights from Packaging Summit

If you want insights on how your packaged brand can survive and prosper in a tough economy in 2009, the IoPP Packaging Summit conference might have the answers you need. The conference will be May 19 and 20 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Rosemont, IL.

Among the scheduled speakers are:

• Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chief Business Development Officer and Vice President at Eastman Kodak Co., will discuss packaging's impact in building the company's new products, including speed-to-shelf.
• Jon Denham, Vice President Design and Innovation at Kraft, and Phil Best, Vice President, Product Design and Innovation at LPK, will explore how Kraft innovates to reach cost and marketing goals, with package design as a core strategy.
• Tom Blanck, Business Unit Manager at Adalis Corp., will outline practical steps to deliver cost savings when implementing sustainable packaging. He also will discuss how to recognize the savings when they extend beyond packaging and into the supply chain and logistics.