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Choosing Sustainable Paper-Based Packaging Components

Posted 11.18.2019 by Asuka Westbrook, Market Manager, ACS

The sustainable packaging movement is growing quickly. More brand manufacturers are adding sustainability goals for packaging in light of the circular economy concept. This concept, developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, looks beyond the three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) to create a circulate flow of materials
and components. 

Circular flow chart of materials and components.

Image source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Major retailers are moving away from single use plastic and moving toward sustainable packaging, requiring

more recycled, reusable, and recyclable packaging to be used with the products that they sell. Retailers also
are improving communication on recyclability by adding consumer-friendly recycling labels to the packaging. 

Walmart has a clear sustainability vision on secondary packaging. They have published details on their Sustainable Packaging Playbook. The company is prioritizing design that reduces environmental and social impacts, increasing source sustainably by using more recycled and renewable materials, and encouraging package designs that support recycling.

Walmart Sustainability Hub Graphic

Image source: Walmart Sustainability Hub

H.B. Fuller’s adhesive coated solutions promote sustainable practices by using recycled fiber from post-consumer and post-industrial waste streams and paper from sustainable sources.

Sesame® Tape product supports the manufacturers’ packaging sustainability goals while enhancing performance and optimizing packaging costs.

  • Reduce your company’s carbon footprint by optimizing the layers and board weights in corrugated packaging with Sesame® reinforcement tape. It enables lighter paper or reduced wall construction, without sacrificing packaging performance, on any corrugated packaging from regular shipping boxes to heavy duty bulk boxes.
  • Decrease your company’s use of paper to create retail ready packaging by using Open-Sesame® tear tape opening. This application enables a shipper-to-display, one box solution that uses 35% less paper than a two-piece, tray and cover, shelf ready format. 
  • Extend the useable life of your boxes with Sesame®; String score line reinforcement. This application enables distribution boxes to last twice as long. Close-Sesame™ closing tape also supports the reuse of shipping boxes by enabling a return ready design. Delight customers with easy returns that do not require packing tape.
  • Recycle corrugated boxes that contain Sesame products. The tapes and strings are separated out during the
    Old Corrugated Container (OCC) re-pulping process, allowing the paper fiber to be fully recycled.

H.B. Fuller’s Sesame® Technology has a proven track record of supporting the packaging industry with recyclability and optimization of the paper-based packaging. We value our customers’ sustainability efforts, including the importance of greener packaging to support preservation of natural resources.

ACS Sustainability Infographic. 

At H.B. Fuller, we are committed to creating positive change. View our Global Responsibility Report.

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