Paper, Printing, and Cartons: Pretty Sustainable
Cartons can be both eco-friendly and beautiful.
By Jennifer Kwok, Managing EditorEnvironmental friendliness is a hot topic in the paper, printing, and cartons industry. By nature, secondary cartons are meant to be thrown away soon after an item is purchased. Why not make sure that cartons are as earth-friendly as possible before they go to landfills?
Until recently, brands seeking eco-friendly cartons typically had to go with natural-looking Kraft-like stock. However, suppliers are quickly working to make it possible for a sustainable carton to look very similar to a carton made from virgin material.
Sustainable Stock
Six months ago, paper supplier Monadnock Paper Mills (Bennington, NH) took its first formal step into the packaging sector by unveiling Envi, the company’s first packaging-grade carton stock. Unlike many other postconsumer recycled (PCR) stocks, Envi has a decidedly upscale look.
For its new line, Zia chose cartons that are 50% PCR and made using wind power. According to converter Curtis Packaging, the project saved up to 62 trees and reduced the amount of greenhouse gases and solid waste generated.
Before the launch of Envi, Monadnock, long known for being extremely environmentally friendly, had specialized in graphic arts papers for commercial printing—such as for brochures or annual reports. “Packaging had never been a concentrated area for us from a marketing standpoint,” says Dave Lunati, director of marketing for Monadnock. “However, over the years we had heard accounts of our papers being used for packaging. We started to think that there might be some opportunities for us in the marketplace.”
He continues, “We conducted about 18 months of customer research, talking to people up and down the chain, from brand owners to designers, as well as agencies, converters, and retailers. We started asking questions about what they needed and what was missing.”
The new Envi folding box board by Monadnock features 80% PCR, while still offering the performance and upscale appearance of virgin paperboard.
The result is Envi. The 18-pt single-ply board is suited for folding cartons, setup boxes, paperboard tubes, luxury shopping bags, and hangtags.
Several elements contribute to Envi’s sustainability. First, the board can be made with up to 80% PCR. The other 20% is composed of virgin fiber. Lunati says that 80% is one of the highest recycled-content levels available for this type of board.
Monadnock currently doesn’t offer the paper with a higher percentage of PCR because incorporating some virgin fibers helps the paper stay strong. “Recycled fibers are inherently weaker,” says Lunati. “It’s a natural result of the recycling process. To create a virgin sheet of paper, fibers are refined and broken down. When the paper is recycled, the inks are removed and the paper is refined and broken down again into fibers. That refining process makes recycled fibers weaker.”
He continues, “I’m sure that we could go higher with our PCR percentage, but we weren’t comfortable going any higher at this point in time. You never know what a brand owner is going to use the board for. We felt comfortable going with 80% because it gives the paper strength characteristics that are very similar to a virgin solid-bleached-sulfate (SBS) board. In fact, we designed the product to be a drop-in replacement for SBS board. But you can go higher with the percentage. We have gone higher, up to 100%.”
The second element that makes Envi environmentally friendly is that all of its fibers, both PCR and virgin, are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). FSC is an independent, third-party organization that certifies whether a paper product was responsibly sourced and manufactured in an environmentally friendly way. “People are taking an increased look at how a product is sourced and made,” says Lunati.
Like all of Monadnock’s papers, Envi is made using 100% carbon-neutral renewable electrical energy. Monadnock has long generated 50% of its power on-site with hydroelectric dams. The firm gets the rest of its energy by purchasing renewable wind energy credits. “Increasingly savvy, environmentally conscious consumers are now asking not only how a product was sourced, but also what kind of energy was used in making it,” says Lunati.
Envi gives companies more environmentally friendly options for packaging. “Before launching Envi, we found that the options for brand owners were very limited, especially in the luxury area,” says Lunati. “Typically what you’ll find are recycled boards, coated news back, or chipboard. These are either very gray in tinge or dirty-looking—a very Kraft look that declares ‘environmental.’”
By contrast, Envi’s smooth, ultrabright white look gives brands the option of creating cartons that are sustainable but that don’t necessarily have what Lunati describes as a “granola” look. “Beauty companies are in the business of promoting cleanliness and pure products. They want to make sure that their packaging reflects that as well,” he says. “Envi rivals virgin fiberboard to the point that you can’t even tell the difference between the two.”
Luxurious, Not “Granola”
Part of what makes a paper like Envi environmentally friendly is that it is uncoated. Often, it is a paper’s coatings and inks that prevent it from being biodegradable.
Carton converter and printer Curtis Packaging (Sandy Hook, CT) is an eco-friendly company. It uses 100% renewable energy—85% from wind power and 15% from hydroelectric power. The company is also FSC-certified and a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. One of the company’s green initiatives has been to develop biodegradable and recyclable inks and coatings.
Curtis recently launched CurtCoat, an ultraglossy, biodegradable, and recyclable UV coating that acts as a substitute for an acetate film lamination. “Some brands want an acetate film lamination because it adds shine,” says Donald Droppo, vice president of marketing for Curtis Packaging. “However, most acetate laminations are very difficult or impossible to recycle. Only a few facilities in the world can recycle an acetate laminate.”
CurtCoat offers another benefit. “Unlike a film lamination, which is usually applied off-line, CurtCoat can be applied on-line on our printing presses at high speeds, so it makes a job much faster,” says Droppo. “It’s a true win-win in terms of speed-to-market and environmental friendliness.”
Curtis Packaging offers another product with the same biodegradable qualities. CurtChrome is the company’s alternative to a traditional foil laminate. Instead of foil, CurtChrome uses flexographic silver ink, which can decompose in a landfill and be recycled.
By substituting CurtChrome for foil, brands can cut costs by 30%. “It can be applied on-line, instead of having to laminate paper off-line,” says Droppo. “We’ve converted many of our clients to CurtChrome.” CurtCoat and CurtChrome can be used on both sustainable and nonsustainable stock.
Options such as CurtCoat and CurtChrome are designed to let companies create luxurious-looking cartons, without sacrificing environmental friendliness.
Droppo says that there aren’t many differences between printing on virgin stock and an uncoated stock like Envi—except when it comes to coating. “Because uncoated stock is very porous, there’s not a lot that we can do because the uncoated stock drinks in the coating like a sponge,” he says. “You’re unable to do UV spot coating and spotte matte and gloss coating. However, the stock still prints beautifully, die-cuts well, and glues well. If you want to hot stamp it, it hot stamps beautifully.”
Droppo says that converting PCR stock is no more challenging than converting virgin stock—and he should know. Curtis Packaging helped Monadnock test how the Envi board performed when it was in development, letting Monadnock know which versions converted well and which didn’t.
Earth-Friendly Plastic
Eco-friendly developments are also taking place with plastic. Supplier Seufert Transparente Verpackungen (Rodgau, Germany) is now able to incorporate PCR in its PET cartons.
“Seufert is able to include up to 80% PCR in coextruded PET. We call it PETR,” says Christine Menard, director of sales for Alliora USA, Seufert’s sister company. Both are divisions of Ileos.
Menard continues, “PETR has not been used yet in the cosmetics area because its development is very recent. However, the quality and functionality of PETR is very similar to regular PET.”
Another plastic carton supplier, HLP Clear Packaging Products (New York City), has worked with PET cartons for 20 years. The company says that while PET is not biodegradable, it is one of the more environmentally friendly plastics.
“PET is [more] environmentally friendly because it consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen,” says Karen Koeningsberg, marketing officer for HLP. “It can be incinerated without residues. It does not release toxic gases like other materials do.”
MeadWestvaco Health & Beauty Packaging (New York City), formerly known as AGI/Klearfold, offers plastic folding cartons that are made from a 100% annually renewable resource—corn-based NatureWorks PLA. Called NatureSource, the cartons are a sustainable packaging alternative that provides all of the aesthetics and performance of traditional plastic cartons, according to Pat McGee, MeadWestvaco Health & Beauty Packaging’s director of marketing.
Reducing Emissions
The Evolution Box, as pictured customized for Mary Kay’s Affection fragrance, looks almost the same as the Evolution2, but it doesn’t ship flat. Rather than the lightweight paper wrap typical of a setup box, the Evolution Box features an SBS paperboard blank that is joined to a scored chipboard stiffener. The SBS blank/stiffener construction is then glued to create a tray and a lid. The SBS blank can be directly printed, and marketers can apply the same decorating techniques that they would to a premium folding carton.
Environmental friendliness can also take the form of reducing emissions during shipping. To this end, supplier MeadWestvaco Health & Beauty Packaging has launched Evolution2, an alternative to a setup box. Evolution2 ships flat, ultimately reducing the number of trucks required for shipping.
“The nice thing about the Evolution2 is that it has the same rigid, sturdy feel as a setup box, but it is able to ship flat and be set up either manually or automatically at a customer’s location,” says McGee. “It requires fewer trucks to deliver flat packaging than erected packaging. Also, recycled paperboard is used in the manufacturing of the product.”
Companies that use Evolution2 not only help reduce emissions, they also save on the cost of shipping and warehousing. And they save on the cost of the box because Evolution2—and its predecessor, the Evolution Box—cost less than a setup box.
Evolution Boxes are manufactured using proprietary assembly equipment that runs at significantly higher speeds and with fewer operators than required by typical setup box assembly lines, ultimately saving costs.
Driving the Message Home
Although sustainable materials can cost more, brands that use them get something in return—the right to advertise on a package that the materials used are environmentally friendly.
When it comes to educating people about environmental friendliness, sometimes nothing works better than tooting your own horn. Suppliers and marketers should broadcast their environmentally friendly efforts in order to encourage—or pressure—other companies to do the same.
“From a marketing standpoint, there’s a thin line between beating your chest and just doing good work,” says Lunati. “We want to educate our clients to help them improve their environmental positioning.”
Sometimes, education starts by informing marketers specifically of what good they are doing for the environment. To this end, Curtis Packaging has several programs in place. For instance, it will use an environmental savings calculator to educate its customers. “If a customer’s job would require 20,000 lb of SBS stock, we’d let the company know what would happen if it converted that job, say, to Monadnock stock at 65% PCR,” says Droppo. “We type that into an environmental savings calculator, and it reports how many trees were not cut down, how many miles were not driven, and how much CO2 was not emitted into the atmosphere. We then submit those numbers with our quote.”
He continues, “Those figures tell the company that for the extra money it might be paying for sustainable stock, these are the benefits that the environment is getting. Every time we run a job, we’ll send them a report on the environmental savings. Customers—especially the publicly traded ones—love it because of what people call SCR, or social corporate responsibility. If you are a publicly traded company, you can let your shareholders and customers know what you are doing to help the environment.”
Droppo says that Curtis Packaging also plans to start issuing semiannual reports about its green practices and new green initiatives. “We want to show our customers and prospective customers what we’re doing to positively impact the environment,” says Droppo. “We feel that it gives us a competitive advantage.”
Brand marketers can also make a positive impact by advertising their environmentally friendly packaging. If a carton is sustainable, companies can proudly state that fact on the carton. As more customers realize that green packaging options are available, they might be more apt to seek out and support companies that offer sustainable packaging. “There’s a whole group of consumers out there that is willing to spend more on products that are eco-friendly because they believe in it,” comments Droppo.
Even without promotion, demand for sustainable paperboard has been increasing. Both Curtis and Monadnock have seen business grow quickly for their eco-friendly resources. “A lot of trends have come and gone, but I think this one is going to stick around for awhile,” says Lunati. “From big brands to little brands, the more customers we reach and the more companies that seek out environmentally friendly materials, the better off we’ll all be.”
Some might think that a paper without PCR isn’t environmentally friendly. Virgin paperboard, however, is still sustainable. “Just because a paper doesn’t have PCR, it’s still a very sustainable stock,” says Donald Droppo, vice president of marketing for carton converter Curtis Packaging.
“I also want to point out that our forests are stronger now than they were 50 years ago,” he says, “because of organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) that certify proper forestry. So FSC-certified virgin SBS paperboard is very sustainable. There’s always confusion about that.”
What Is ISO 14001?
Like ISO 9001 certification, which recognizes manufacturers’ quality management, ISO 14001 indicates that a company’s manufacturing procedures comply with environmental laws. It also takes into account whether a company continues to improve on its eco-friendly practices.
Monadnock Paper Mills is ISO 14001 certified. “We’re one of the only premium uncoated paper mills in the country to be ISO 14001 certified,” says Dave Lunati, director of marketing for Monadnock. “Each year, we quantify what our environmental impact has been and what improvements we have made.”
In fact, says Lunati, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized us as a performance-track company. They use us as the benchmark for other industry suppliers to follow. They use us to dispel myths when people say, ‘We can’t do this because it’s too costly.’”