Reusable and Refillable Packaging Innovations from Around the World

ThePackHub U.K. offers a compendium of sustainable packaging ideas for the growing reusable and refillable market.

Paul JenkinsManaging Director, ThePackHub

Oct 2nd, 2020

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The development of sustainable packaging continues to be a strategic priority and there is one particular sustainable trend that is growing fast. Refillable and reusable packaging is advancing rapidly with ThePackHub's Innovation Zone database reporting a 68% year-on-year increase in initiatives.

ThePackHub's Refillable and Reusable Packaging Compendium 2020/21 is packed with vital trend information, analysis and insight about the fast growing refillable and reusable packaging market from a global perspective.

See it Live at PACK EXPO Connects Nov. 9-13: Smart Glasses: Next Generation Customer Support For Packaging Equipment, by BEUMER Group. Preview the Showroom Here.

Find out which brands, retailers and suppliers are bringing refillable and reusable innovations to market and what you need to do to succeed.The in-depth review includes a unique and comprehensive summary of 175 of the latest refillable and reusable packaging innovations covering initiatives across consumer categories from around the world.

The Refillable and Reusable Packaging Compendium 2020/21 includes:

– 175 market initiatives with visuals, analysis and comment

– consumer insight - find out the views and opinions of the end customer via our exclusive bespoke research

– 17 key expert interviews - understand the views of leading industry players shaping market growth

– industry contacts summary - a comprehensive list of the key global contacts

Refillable and Reusable Packaging Compendium 2020/21 comprises 289 pages. The price is just $587. The Compendium is available in searchable PDF format now.

Find out more and order here Innovation Zone members can save even more.

PACK EXPO Connects Jumpstart

An organic snack food company busts the myth that brands do not want to use recycled content. Find out how Annie’s Organics proved assumptions wrong and launched a food-contact film in a bag-in-box application that relies heavily on recycled material. Tune into PACK EXPO Connects Jumpstart morning show, Monday, November 9^th at 9:00 a.m. CT. More info here.

Insights from Circularity 22 and E-Pack Europe

After a two-year COVID hiatus, Circularity and E-Pack Europe conferences go live, with content on advanced recycling and sustainable packaging for e-commerce, respectively.

Ball Aerosol Packaging

Ball Corp. Launches Low Carbon Footprint Aluminum Aerosol Can

The sustainable aluminum aerosol can is made with up to 50% recycled content and will be available to customers around the world.

Public Goods’ refillable 12-oz containers are HDPE, approximately 90% of which comes from Braskem’s I’m Green sugarcane-based PE.

Hotel Toiletries in Bioplastic Packaging Serve the Eco-Friendly Traveler

Public Goods offers a line of toxin-free personal care products in bioplastic packaging, some of which is reusable/refillable, for hoteliers looking to meet guests’ growing sustainability preferences.

DHL on E-Commerce Growth: Don’t Ship Air by Air

As a courier, 3PL, and “in-Distribution Center (in-DC)” contract packager, DHL, especially DHL Supply Chain, occupies a unique space in e-comm and packaging.

Printed paperboard means no need for labels or labeling equipment.

World’s First Tequila in Paperboard ‘Bag-in-Bottle’ Design

Distilled in Jalisco, Mexico, and launching in Sweden, Buen Vato is the world’s first tequila in a bottle-shaped paperboard container and 750-mL metalized PET pouch, made from 84% recycled material.

Safe, Productive, and Efficient Robotics

Safe, Productive, and Efficient Robotics

Advanced technology for robotics and automation is more common in manufacturing, warehouses, and distribution center environments. See how you can easily implement safe and productive robotics.

The new Nordic Criteria were presented by Susanne Backer, senior consultant, circular economy, procurement and clinical engineering, Central Denmark region, at LyondellBasell’s Advancing Quality Healthcare Event.

New Nordic Sustainability Criteria Poised to Expand in Europe

Released in March 2022, the Common Nordic Criteria for more Sustainable Packaging in Healthcare were developed by stakeholders with the aim of reducing material waste, increasing recycling, and increasing the usage of recycled or renewable materials.

A panel of four brands at the recent Digital Print for Packaging US conference were introduced to the part that digital printing can play to help CPG companies reach their sustainability goals.

Conference Report: Digital Print’s Potential to Boost Sustainability

Industry experts outline the sustainability benefits of choosing digital printing, and how to convince brands to adopt the technology.

Forest Vision 2025

Documentary Showcases Graphic Packaging’s Commitment to Sustainability

The short film reflects on Graphic Packaging International’s participation in an initiative called Vision 2045.

Companies Innovate With Compostable and Bio-Based Packaging

See a few examples of naturally sourced and compostable packaging innovations from ThePackHub’s June Packaging Innovation Briefing Report.

Coca-Cola’s Cloeann Durham details the beverage giant’s sustainability initiatives at ISBT’s annual BevTech meeting.

Coca-Cola Targets Sustainability From Every Angle

As the beverage giant takes aim at climate, water, recycling, and other initiatives, it’s relying more than ever on a science-based approach. Data is all you really have to tell your story, says Coca-Cola’s Cloeann Durham.

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Sabic, UPM Raflatac Launch Label Materials Made from Certified Circular Ocean Bound Plastic

Sabic joined an innovative project with value chain partners to help UPM Raflatac launch a packaging label material made from SABIC®certified circular PP based on advanced recycled ocean bound plastic (OBP).

Brent Lindberg, founder and Head of Curiosity, Fuseneo

Planning Your E-Comm Package’s Funeral: Considerations for Designing for End of Life

Fuseneo’s Brent Lindberg advises E-Pack Europe attendees on how to design packaging for composting, reuse, and especially recycling, rather than for burial in a landfill.

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Emerson Announces Net Zero Targets

Company plans to achieve net zero operations by 2030, net zero value chain by 2045.

Jeremy Long, Senior Manager, Product Management, Customer Packaging Experience, Amazon

Amazon: Transformational Change in E-comm Packaging Begins Upstream

At E-Pack Europe 2022, Amazon’s Jeremy Long explains how true innovation around e-commerce packaging requires an upstream strategy that involves both the product and the packaging.

Michelman Bobst Upm Sustainable Packaging Collaboration Blockimage

Michelman Collaborates with Bobst, UPM on Sustainable Packaging Innovation

On June 15th, Bobst will host a webinar to discuss an innovative new solution for the creation of high-barrier, sustainable, fiber-based food packaging, developed in conjunction with Michelman and UPM Specialty Papers.

EPS-Free Packaging Passes the Test for Heavy, Fragile Windows

The shift to paper-based packaging from EPS for sustainability purposes is common these days, but it’s noteworthy in this case since the products are notoriously heavy, unwieldy, and highly breakable glass windows and frames.

Ranpak Holdings Corp. Announces Progress Towards Key ESG Targets

Ranpak, a manufacturer of environmentally sustainable, paper-based packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, released its 2021 ESG Impact Report showing it made significant progress in 2021 towards achieving its 2030 ESG targets.

Divine Flavor opted for StePacs PET stand-up pouch to preserve quality with a minimal footprint.

Produce Packaging Ripe for Innovation

From European plastic bans to consumers pushing for what they perceive to be more sustainable packaging, produce companies are finding ways to maintain or improve shelf life while contributing to a circular economy.

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Tetra Pak Announces Collaborations to Accelerate Innovations for the Future of the Food Industry

Ahead of United Nations World Food Safety Day, Tetra Pak announced its new set of research collaborations and programs to further accelerate efforts to address challenges facing food systems worldwide.

More in Sustainability

Currently Defunkify’s packaging for its liquid laundry detergent products consists of high-density polyethylene bottles made with 25% post-consumer recycled material.

Defunkify Helps Remove 41K Pounds of Ocean Plastic

To offset its plastic packaging footprint, bio-based household cleaning products company Defunkify partners with rePurpose Global to help fund the removal of plastic waste headed into marine ecosystems

The stroke of the LinMot actuator in the Forpak application - this graphic demonstrates the footprint of the axis.

OEM's Head-to-head Pneumatic vs. Servo Test Shows CPGs Savings

Stacking equipment manufacturer Forpak devised a test to see how incumbent pneumatic actuators stacked up against newer mechatronic servo technology, specifically on a frozen food stacking and laning application. These are the results.

One of Mars’s reusable packaging pilots involved running tests with the Loop reusable packaging platform across multiple brands, including cat food.

Mars Faces Challenges of Flexible Packaging-based Portfolio

Allison Lin, Global VP of Packaging Sustainability at Mars shares how the company is exploring a range of alternatives to multilayer flexible packaging for greater circularity.

'It’s easier to start with sustainability from the beginning rather than try to pivot when you’re big. I think that’s a huge opportunity for a startup,' Azan says.

Emerging Brand Prioritizes Product Education on Package

Annette Azan, the Founder and CEO of Nuudii System, has been an executive in the fashion business her entire career. More than 11 years ago, Azan got the opportunity to make a garment of her own.

Liplid By Liplid

Fiber-Based Drink Lids Adopted in Swedish Foodservice Chain

Every year, more than 300 billion plastic lids, equivalent to 1.5 million tons of plastic, are produced, and many of them end up as litter in the world’s oceans.

Kengos shoes’ most visually striking design element stems from the whip-stitching that mechanically attaches the sole to the upper without adhesive. That design element is reinforced in the packaging design, which is also entirely mechanical.

D2C SIOC Shoes Make Sustainable Statement

Micah Heftman hadn’t heard the acronym SIOC (ships in own container) when he designed a shoebox for his footwear. He just wanted to avoid a ‘box within a box’ experience. Only when he heard about SIOC did he realize there was a name for his pack design.

(l. to r.) Danielle Jezienicki, Senior Director of Sustainability for Grove Collaborative, and Emily Tipaldo, Executive Director of the U.S. Plastics Pact

Live from Circularity 22: Grove Collaborative Continues to Push ‘Beyond Plastic’

Danielle Jezienicki, Senior Director of Sustainability for Grove, shares how the company’s ambition to be plastic-free is the first step toward a circular economy.

A two-side printed paperboard carton cake box delights Taartenwinkel customers upon opening.

Dutch Bakery’s E-Comm Pack Keeps Cakes Cool

E-commerce is hard enough for durable, shelf-stable products. It's even trickier for cakes, etc., that need to maintain a temperature of less than 7°C (45°F) while out for delivery. Here's how a popular Dutch bakery and e-tailer sustainably made it work.

Paperseal Range V2

Graphic Packaging’s Award-winning Hybrid Packaging Delivers on Sustainability

Since its launch in 2020, the PaperSeal® range of trays from Graphic Packaging International has proven it can satisfy the growing imperative for packaging to have greater circularity and be more sustainable.

Ecolean Ecovadis Everyday Champion 2022

Ecolean Rated in Top 1% in Sustainability by EcoVadis

For the second year in a row, Ecolean was awarded the Platinum EcoVadis medal, placing the company’s sustainability work in the top 1% of assessed companies globally in 2022.

Heinz and Pulpex are developing a prototype to test how the patented packaging technology could be used for the Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle and other packaging formats .

Kraft Heinz Explores Potential of Paper-Based Ketchup Bottle

The company aims to become the first brand to use Pulpex’s patented recyclable, paper-based bottle technology for a sauce product.

Bill Nye the Science Guy and Coca-Cola Teach Recycling in Fun, Accessible Video Short

Coca-Cola and Bill Nye (the Science Guy) team up to create a stop-motion video that aims to demystify recycling. In a unique twist, the actual materials used to model Nye and the set in the stop-motion animation are recycled or recyclable.