New minimal impact, airtight custom glass component packaging is available. School House and Tata Harper partnered to create the brand’s iconic Supernaturals collection opening the door for the entire sustainable packaging market. The new packaging maintains product quality and, “compliments the air, elevated quality of the luxury product.” When it’s taken out of the box the light hitting the bottle creates a picture of the potent plants within and the ingredients contained within.
Other products like Radio Roaster’s new single-use Steeped Coffee Bags employs guilt-free, biodegradable packaging that is fully recyclable and environmentally friendly. The packaging has a six-month shelf life which is a bonus for hikers, travelers, campers, and diehard coffee drinkers to get their fix while on the road or at home.
Both products demonstrate the hunger and need for sustainable and recyclable products in today’s “green” obsessed market. Maintaining brand identity, logo, color, and quality is essential in providing sustainable packaging.
One of the first things to consider when thinking about a printing and packaging vendor is their experience with producing biodegradable and “green” friendly packaging. Asking hard questions about the ink used in the process is important. For example, water-based inks are environmentally friendly. Does your vendor provide water-based inks to ensure environmentally friendly resources? Is the packaging rated? Does it meet EPA standards for recyclable materials?
If you are considering a packaging design and solution that meets recyclable or biodegradable packaging it’s important that you protect the product within the container to ensure sustainability. Rigid plastics offer a strong alternative. 90+% of the U.S. has access to retail bag takeback initiatives, the primary outlet for recycling flexible plastics. But recycling rates for curbside rigid plastics are higher than for flexible plastics according to the EPA.
The majority of recycled content comes from rigid packaging. There are a variety of factors that enter into the end process such as PCR supply, manufacturing technology, government regulation, and customer specifications.
Plastic packaging is lightweight and in comparison to glass, or metal it weighs significantly less reducing costs. The sustainability of rigid v.s. flexible packaging is just too close to call. Both have advantages and drawbacks. This is why it’s important to have a printing and packaging vendor with experience in sustainability and recyclable packaging.
At Century Printing and Packaging we have been working with clients to provide creative and sustainable printing and packaging solutions for years. Eco-friendly papers for labels, water-based inks, and recycling solutions to protect and sustain the environment have been at the forefront of our products for several years. We welcome enviro-friendly packaging clients and are eager to help them seek sustainable solutions to their packaging and printing needs. We also have a commitment to environmentally responsible policies in our own facility, such as motion sensor lighting, replacing fluorescent bulbs with LED, and minimizing scrap to help reduce waste sent to the landfill.
At Century Printing and Packaging, we support and affirm environmentally friendly resources and products. We use water-based inks and have access to FSC certified papers and compostable films. We provide labels and print packaging for a variety of products and we are eager to explore compostable and recyclable product options with our clients. Contact us today to discuss your unique printing and packaging needs.
Ben Waldrop
President
Century Printing & Packaging
Greer, SC 29651
800.344.7509