From:Packaging News

James Cropper has launched a renewable and recyclable moulded packaging product which it says is a “sustainable alternative to plastic”.

It is made from entirely renewable materials and consumers can recycle it with household paper.

The company produces premium paper and packaging products, and has now launched a new business – James Cropper 3D Products.

It said this has been developed as a bespoke, design-engineered, moulded paper packaging product which challenges plastic in terms of colour, quality and performance and will add value for brand owners, designers and other customers – ‘going above and beyond the capabilities of any other moulded fibre packaging’.

James Cropper 3D Products (JC3DP), based in Burneside, Cumbria, will showcase the product at Packaging Innovations 2016, at Olympia London, on September 14 and September 15.

Patrick Willink, chief technology officer, said JC3DP is a sustainable alternative to plastic in many packaging applications such as personal care products, e-retail, giftware, consumer electronics, homeware and a raft of other sectors.

“We know that if brands are to move beyond the need for plastic in packaging, sustainable alternatives have to add value and can’t compromise on colour, quality or performance, said Willink.

“Paper has a timeless sense of quality that’s worlds away from the multisensory disappointments of plastic. Of course, moulded fibre products are in limited use already. But these products have nowhere near the versatility in colour and design that we are able to produce. The switch from using plastic to our moulded paper packaging can also be made with relative ease, which means it is really challenging plastic as the go-to product for packaging.”

He added that JC3DP products have features such as embossing for greater definition and the cure-in-the-mould production process, allowing a combination of precise pressure and temperature controls with different fibre blends to create textures and finishes that cannot be achieved with plastic.

The product is made using 100% renewable natural fibres from sustainably managed forests.
“The production and disposal of plastic is one of the key environmental problems facing the packaging industry today. Not only does JC3DP packaging come from truly sustainable sources, but can also be recycled just like regular paper. We are really proud to have developed an innovation that will help the environment, but is also a great sustainability story that will capture the imagination of consumers.”