New at PACK EXPO International is TC Transcontinental's vieVERTe recycle-ready PCR flexible packaging material, which comes in two variations: one with 38% PCR, and the other with 50% PCR. Rebecca Casey, senior VP of marketing & strategy at TC Transcontinental, says vieVERTe is aimed at the home and personal care market, but is also ideal for the evolving pet food market.
"Pretty much the whole premium pet food side of the business revolves around having recyclable packaging," says Casey. "That's driven by consumers. And when we look at back at 2018, when China decided they didn't want to take our plastic waste anymore, it became more evident to consumers that, as a country, we weren't really recycling our materials. And I think they've become more educated. When we talk about only 9% of plastic is recycled in the U.S., consumers know they put more than 9% of plastic in their recycle bins. So they're putting a bit more pressure on the consumer product companies, and a lot of consumer product companies are saying we need to do the right thing for our planet. So it's kind of a push forward in all directions."
Casey adds that according to a recent Mintel study, 49% of new consumer products--like premium pet food, for example--include some claim of environmentally friendly packaging, so TC Transcontinental's vieVERTe flexible packaging material fits right into this trend.
