â– According to a new report by Information Resources, Inc., (IRI), U.S. consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of the social and environmental impacts of their purchases. IRI surveyed the attitudes of 22,000 U.S. shoppers. About half of the respondents to the survey said they considered at least one of the following when making a purchase of a packaged food or beverage: whether the product was organic or produced and packaged in an eco-friendly manner or if the company treats its employees fairly. One fifth of the respondents were found to be committed when making purchases to at least two of the three factors.
â– Innovia Films has achieved carbon neutral status on its line of NatureFlex coated biodegradable and compostable packaging films. NatureFlex complies with the specifications required for soil, home composting, and waste water applications at ambient temperatures, as well as for industrial composting.
■Diamond Packaging launched a new website to coincide with the introduction of its “greenbox” initiative, the company’s commitment to research, design, and implement packaging solutions that are innovative and sustainable. The site features individual sections describing Diamond’s green initiative—designs, materials, and methods—as well as separate sections dedicated to sustainability, wind energy, and education. The educational section features sustainability-related definitions, acronyms, and links to relevant articles and organizations. RSS news feeds, videos, and an environmental calculator are also included on the site, www.diamondpackaging.com/green.
â– Allied Development Corp. introduced a new subscription service for its lifecycle analysis tool for packaging. Allied said this environmental impact tool provides rigorous and fast analysis of the environmental impact of packaging.
â– Georgia-Pacific announces that it is extending its Packaging System Optimization (PSO) service program to noncustomers. The PSO program is designed to help companies achieve greater profitability and sustainability by identifying packaging supply chain inefficiencies.
â– Corru-Shred, Inc., offers demonstrations of loose-fill packing made from old corrugated boxes. The company sells the box shredding equipment and says that reusing the corrugated boxes for loose packing reduces waste pickup, dumpster costs, and the need to buy loose packing.
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