Materials & Packaging

The latest developments in materials, feedstocks and processes that are transforming the way many conventional products are made and packaged — and eliminating their negative impacts

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
2015 Dupont Packaging Innovation Winners Feature Less Material, Increased Recyclability
2015 Dupont Packaging Innovation Winners Feature Less Material, Increased Recyclability
Published on May 19, 2015
About a 3 minute read

The DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation are the industry's longest-running, global, independently judged recognition of innovation and collaboration throughout the packaging value chain. This year, a panel of experts evaluated almost 140 entries f... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
MillerCoors' Trenton Brewery Upcycling Wastewater Into Fish, Animal Feed
MillerCoors' Trenton Brewery Upcycling Wastewater Into Fish, Animal Feed
Published on May 18, 2015
About a 2 minute read

MillerCoors’ Trenton Brewery in Ohio will now also produce fish and animal feed.Thanks to a partnership with biotech company Nutrinsic, wastewater from MillerCoors’ beer-making process will now enter Nutrinsic’s sustainable protein production f... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute Announces New Material Health Certificate Registry
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute Announces New Material Health Certificate Registry
Published on May 14, 2015
About a 4 minute read

This morning, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute launched the Material Health Certificate Registry, a new online tool for identifying and communicating the work of manufacturers toward chemically optimized products. Two pilot companie... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Mars Agrees with WHO, Promises to List Added Sugars in Nutritional Facts
Mars Agrees with WHO, Promises to List Added Sugars in Nutritional Facts
Published on May 12, 2015
About a 2 minute read

On Friday, Mars announced it would support two important recommendations designed to help consumers limit their intake of added sugars and achieve healthier, more balanced diets.The candy giant is endorsing recommendations that people should limit th... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Shareholders, Interest Groups Launch Two-Pronged Assault on Kraft’s Non-Recyclable Capri Sun Pouches
Shareholders, Interest Groups Launch Two-Pronged Assault on Kraft’s Non-Recyclable Capri Sun Pouches
Published on May 8, 2015
About a 5 minute read

At a shareholder meeting on Tuesday, a proposal to Kraft Foods Group asserting that non-recyclable packaging — particularly that of Capri Sun pouches — is wasting valuable resources received the support of 29.2 percent of shares voted, according ... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Method Opens First LEED-Platinum Certified Factory in Chicago
Method Opens First LEED-Platinum Certified Factory in Chicago
Published on April 29, 2015
About a 2 minute read

Method Products, maker of eco-friendly household, fabric and personal care products, has opened the doors of its 'South Side Soapbox' factory in the Pullman Park district of Chicago. Designed by architects and sustainable designers, William McDonough... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
UCSD Undergrads Create First Algae-Based Sustainable Surfboard
UCSD Undergrads Create First Algae-Based Sustainable Surfboard
Published on April 28, 2015
About a 3 minute read

San Diego is home to a robust surfing industry and now, thanks to a collaboration with UC San Diego’s biology and chemistry students, the city is also home to the world’s first algae-based surfboard. The prototype was publicly introduced last wee... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
UPSTREAM Hands State Officials Model Legislation for Optimizing Packaging Recycling
UPSTREAM Hands State Officials Model Legislation for Optimizing Packaging Recycling
Published on April 28, 2015
About a 3 minute read

Today, environmental advocacy organization UPSTREAM announced the release of model legislation that state legislatures can adopt to optimize recycling, address litter and create jobs through shared responsibility for packaging. The model legislation ... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Biome Bioplastics Leading £3M Program to Develop, Scale Plant-Based Chemical Feedstocks
Biome Bioplastics Leading £3M Program to Develop, Scale Plant-Based Chemical Feedstocks
Published on April 23, 2015
About a 3 minute read

Biome Bioplastics, one of the UK’s leading developers of bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, has begun a major development program to progress successful bio-based chemicals research through to industrial scale production. The proje... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Trending: Plastic Hotel Sheets and a Dress Made from Beer … the Latest in Sustainable Textiles
Trending: Plastic Hotel Sheets and a Dress Made from Beer … the Latest in Sustainable Textiles
Published on April 17, 2015
About a 4 minute read

This week, W Hotels Worldwide, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, became the latest company to jump on the plastic-waste-to-fabric train when it announced a new partnership with global music artist and entrepreneur will.i.am and The Coc... View More

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Materials & Packaging
#BusinessCase: Gap, H&M, Levi's, Target Mills Save $14.7M Through NRDC's Clean by Design Program
#BusinessCase: Gap, H&M, Levi's, Target Mills Save $14.7M Through NRDC's Clean by Design Program
Published on April 16, 2015
About a 4 minute read

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) this week announced the stunning latest results of its Clean by Design program, a global model for sustainable manufacturing that is working with multinational apparel brand partners Target, Gap, Levi Stra... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Hawkins: Dow Is 'All In' to Help Business Community Solve Global Sustainability Challenges
Hawkins: Dow Is 'All In' to Help Business Community Solve Global Sustainability Challenges
Published on April 16, 2015
About a 7 minute read

On Wednesday, Dow Chemical Company announced an ambitious set of 2025 Sustainability Goals, which it said were designed to redefine the role of business in society. Among the new commitments: developing breakthrough product innovations, positively im... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Trending: NGOs, Brands, Suppliers Making Deforestation-Free Plantations, Packaging a Reality
Trending: NGOs, Brands, Suppliers Making Deforestation-Free Plantations, Packaging a Reality
Published on April 9, 2015
About a 5 minute read

Barely a week in and April could very well shape up to be ‘Zero-Deforestation Month’ if the multi-sector momentum around addressing the issue continues. So far, we’ve seen a new commitment from Yum! ... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Rhode Island Considering Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging
Rhode Island Considering Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging
Published on April 3, 2015
About a 3 minute read

Rhode Island lawmakers have introduced two bills that could put end-of-life product management duties onto the shoulders of packaging producers. If passed, Rhode Island will become the first state to enact legislation for extended producer responsibi... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Patagonia Invests in Natural Textile Treatments
Patagonia Invests in Natural Textile Treatments
Published on April 2, 2015
About a 2 minute read

Patagonia today announced a strategic investment in a chemical company focused on making high-performance textile treatments based on natural raw materials.Beyond Surface Technologies, a Swiss firm, was founded in 2008 by scientists and marketing exp... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
BASF Tool Helping Designers Lightweight Products, Minimize Development Costs
BASF Tool Helping Designers Lightweight Products, Minimize Development Costs
Published on March 30, 2015
About a 1 minute read

A common misconception regarding fiber-reinforced plastics is that the material’s performance cannot be predicted, as with steel or aluminum. But BASF says its ULTRASIM® performance-prediction technology routinely delivers 90-95 percent accuracy w... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Biobased Plastics: Fostering a Sustainable and Resource-Efficient Circular Economy
Biobased Plastics: Fostering a Sustainable and Resource-Efficient Circular Economy
Published on March 25, 2015
About a 7 minute read

Bioplastics are not a single kind of plastic, but rather a family of materials that vary considerably from one another. There are three groups in the bioplastics family, each with its own individual characteristics: biobased, biodegradable, or both b... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Additives to Biodegrade Plastics Offered False Hope, Says Latest Study
Additives to Biodegrade Plastics Offered False Hope, Says Latest Study
Published on March 23, 2015
About a 4 minute read

The world today has a plastic addiction, a vice that creates major environmental issues by entering waterways and clogging up our landfills and oceans. The problem is that conventional plastics have a half-life (the time it takes for half of the prod... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
BASF Assembles Consortium to Tighten Up Renewable Biotech Production Processes
BASF Assembles Consortium to Tighten Up Renewable Biotech Production Processes
Published on March 20, 2015
About a 2 minute read

A consortium of companies in the European process industry including biotechnology, renewable resources, chemistry, process engineering, equipment and research organizations launched project PRODIAS (PROcessing Diluted Aqueous Systems) this week. The... View More

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Materials & PackagingMaterials & Packaging
Amerplast Announces New, Flexible Packaging Made From Sugar Cane
Amerplast Announces New, Flexible Packaging Made From Sugar Cane
Published on March 20, 2015
About a 2 minute read

This week, Amerplast, one of Europe's largest flexo printers and bag converters, began a supply partnership with Braskem, a global leader in biopolymers, to market Green Polyethylene (Green PE) made from a renewable sugar cane ethanol, to tissue segm... View More

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