After over 16 years since the creation of the Leatt neck brace, the South African brand known for problem-solving and innovation is taking strides to #SaveOurPlanet. For years, scientists and ecologists have warned about the effects of climate change and industrial pollution. While change cannot be done overnight, 2022 is another milestone year for Leatt as it introduces biodegradable, plastic-free packaging with soy inks on its entire 2022 range of Moto and MTB products. In addition to plastic-free packaging the all-new Leatt Natural Range is released, featuring the brands first sustainably sourced products.
 

The all-new Leatt Natural range is the beginning of an entirely new journey. Leatt Natural range apparel is made from Eco-Friendly fabrics which are responsibly sourced. The material is more durable so the garment can be used for longer periods and requires less washing due to anti-odor and moisture-wicking properties. The production of these products also requires less water than cotton or polyester. To finish it all off, the product is placed in plastic-free packaging and delivered using consolidated shipping. From source to shop in a responsible fashion. These are products that environmentally conscious consumers can purchase, knowing that the garment is responsible sourced, produced and packaged.
 

In the Leatt NaturalL range consumers will discover two new materials – the first, Tencel™ Produced from excess tree pulp, Tencel™ is a very high-performance material that offers unmatched comfort and temperature control. Tencel™ is very soft on the skin and delivers supreme comfort.
 

The second is Yarn. Our yarn is produced from recycled coffee grounds. Yes! Coffee grounds! The Yarn jerseys come in two options: WarmYarn is a fast-drying, odor controlled fabric that will keep you warm on chilly rides. While IceYarn is a breathable fabric, cool to the touch offering low-speed temperature control, leaving the lazer cut ventilation to handle high-speed cooling.
 

A new kind of compostable carrier bag that is made from the same material as egg shells and has a much lower carbon footprint than plastic, paper and other “biodegradable” bags has been launched in the UK.

Known as the Happy Dolphin, the bag is the result of a £4m EU commission to invent a new kind of plastic substitute to help solve the waste crisis.

Its developers are in discussions with UK supermarkets about using their bag and have signed a deal in Vietnam to supply four billion of them to Seven-11 outlets in the country.

Hundreds of millions are also in circulation in Europe.

“This is a transformational breakthrough in the war on plastic and climate change. It’s the silver bullet with the lowest CO2 emissions and no plastic pollution,” said David Hughes, of Happy Dolphin, in Wrexham.

Compostable “bio” bags have typically been made from corn starch, sugarcane or cassava and have had a mixed reception. Many can only break down at high temperatures of 55C to 70C and suitable processing facilities are in short supply.

By contrast, the Happy Dolphin bag is made from a newly-created, patented material called Biodolomer; a mixture that is 50 per cent calcium carbonate mineral – the dominant ingredient in egg and snail shells – mixed with vegetable oils and sugarcane.

It can break down at normal “ambient” temperatures in less than a year and can completely biodegrade in less than a day in a commercial composter.

The material is strong, meaning it can be used 50 times over a period of up to two years before it becomes too weak or worn to use. It is also affordable at 25p to 30p, making it comparable to existing supermarket bags-for-life which cost between 20p and 50p.

An independent study commissioned by the EU found the Happy Dolphin bag had less than half the carbon footprint of both normal plastic bags and other biobags – even lower than paper bags – over the course of its life, from manufacture of the pellets that make up the bag to its disposal.

“There is a very distinct climate benefit when Biodolomer replaces fossil plastics,” said senior researcher Mattias Bisaillon, of the Swedish energy, environment and waste management research consultancy Profu, which conducted the study.

Furthermore, the material has been tested and approved by benchmark European tests for compostability.

The bag was developed, at the request of the EU, by Ake Rosen, a Swedish materials engineer who played a key role in the development of packaging at Tetra Pak, the company known for its tetrahedron-shaped plastic-coated paper drinks cartons.

He has been experimenting with egg shells – which he calls “nature’s perfect packaging” – for years through his company, Gaia BioMaterials in Sweden.

“The egg shell is very important for our packages. We always have it sharply in focus when we develop new packaging,” he said, adding that they protect and enrich the soil as they break down.

“All the earth is covered with calcium carbonate and it takes care of the acid by neutralising it. If we didn’t have it the earth would die of acid.”

The new bio-plastic can also be used for other things:

The makers of the Happy Dolphin bag also have plans to use their new bio-based plastic material in a range of other everyday items, from cups and bottles to cutlery and beer mugs.

Dave Hughes, co-founder of Happy Dolphin, will initially turn his attention to pint glasses made out of the Biodolomer material.

“We’re going to go out to all the Premier League, Formula One, we’re looking at all horse racing, all the festivals,” he said.

But in the longer term, he hopes to branch out much further since the material is suitable for 80 per cent of all plastic uses and virtually all consumer plastic uses.

The exception being tougher industrial uses, such as construction packaging, where the materials it contains may potentially sit in a warehouse for years before being used, he says.

Campaigners welcomed the prospect of the new material coming to the UK.

Maria Westerbos, director of the Plastic Soup Foundation, said: “When used in bags this new material, having a lower carbon footprint than traditional plastic and paper bags, shows real promise going forward in tackling plastic pollution.

“Humanity has just nine years to save the world from the plastic waste crisis before irreparable damage is done to the planet. This should drive us to reduce plastic consumption and production.

“Any new material which inspires a shift away from plastic should be embraced.”

Sustainable packaging company Coveris and Northern Ireland-based poultry meat producer Moy Park have partnered to introduce a new recyclable stand-up pouch.

The MonoFlexBE stand-up pouch has been developed via Coveris’ research and development (R&D) network for Tesco’s cooked chicken product.

The new packaging features a mono-laminate recyclable barrier that helps lower plastic weight by 55%.

The stand-up format comes with a zip-lock to enhance convenience and storage while reducing food waste.

Suitable for all snacking applications, the resealable pouch is currently available for Tesco BBQ Chicken Breast Pieces.

The transition to a recyclable mono-laminate pouch from a rigid tray format is in line with Moy Park’s commitment to reduce packaging weight.

Moy Park packaging development manager Rosemary Perry said: “We were really excited to develop and launch this mono PE film for our cooked chicken product.

“This pack supports Moy Park’s pledge to reduce packaging weight by 5% year on year (YOY)  and delivers on Tesco’s strategy to use mono PE films where possible due to better end-of life-solutions and to promote packaging circularity.”

MonoFlexBE film is the result of Coveris’ collaborations across polymer science, film manufacturing, food safety and shelf-life management, as well as print and technical conversion.

The development also aligns with Coveris’ sustainable goal to become waste-free.

Coveris flexibles technical sales manager Mark Robinson said: “we’re really proud to have supported both Tesco and Moy Park throughout this project and be given the opportunity to deliver a first-to-market solution that not only increases the recyclability of flexible films but also introduces an entirely new, reduced plastic, reduced waste format to the category.”

The Click-to-Lock Pods Box is a paper-based alternative for plastic boxes for laundry pods and is said to reduce C02 emissions by 32% during production. Smurfit Kappa added that the format is tamper-proof and 100% recyclable and biodegradable.

The chief executive of Smurfit Kappa Europe, Saverio Mayer, said: “We are delighted to partner with such a prestigious company as McBride for this project. By combining our collective expertise, we have created this first-to-market innovative packaging solution that provides our customers with a child safe, cost effective and sustainable packaging option for laundry pods.”

Chris Smith, chief executive of McBride, added: “This project is an excellent example of the success that comes from pooling expertise between suppliers and customers to deliver the innovation to support the essential move to more environmentally friendly products.

“My thanks to the dedication of the Smurfit Kappa and McBride experts to deliver this excellent solution which I am convinced will be an attractive option for our customers who are committed to delivering environmental improvement.”

Packaging company Sonoco has expanded the post-consumer recovery and recycling possibilities for its EnviroCan paper containers in the US.

The announcement comes after Sonoco confirmed that all its US paper mills will accept rigid paper cans in mixed paper bales from residential Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs).

Sonoco operates ten mills in various states including Wisconsin, Tennessee, California, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington and Kansas.

The mills will use this mixed paper to manufacture 100% paperboard, with up to 85% post-consumer fibre.

Sonoco sustainability staff vice-president Elizabeth Rhue said: “Sonoco is uniquely positioned as a leading recycler, paper mill operator and paper packaging converter to help grow end of life solutions across not only our consumer and industrial packaging platforms but across the paper industry.

“After validating that our mills could recycle EnviroCan factory scrap, we are now taking the lead to further demonstrate the ability to recycle our paper containers with metal ends not only through the steel stream, as it is largely done today, but also through the post-consumer mixed paper stream.”

This collaboration highlights Sonoco’s capability for recycling and processing fibre-based packaging through conventional paper mill pulping systems.

It also aligns with the company’s commitment to responsible material sourcing and supporting material circularity.

The Coca‑Cola Company’s sustainable packaging journey crosses a major milestone this week with the unveiling of its first-ever beverage bottle made from 100% plant-based plastic, excluding the cap and label, that has been made using technologies that are ready for commercial scale. The prototype bottle comes more than a decade after the company’s PlantBottle™ debuted as the world’s first recyclable PET plastic bottle made with up to 30% plant-based material. A limited run of approximately 900 of the prototype bottles have been produced.

“We have been working with technology partners for many years to develop the right technologies to create a bottle with 100% plant-based content—aiming for the lowest possible carbon footprint—and it’s exciting that we have reached a point where these technologies exist and can be scaled by participants in the value chain,” said Nancy Quan, Chief Technical and Innovation Officer, The Coca‑Cola Company. 

PET, the world’s most recycled plastic, comprises two molecules: approximately 30% monoethylene glycol (MEG) and 70% terephthalic acid (PTA). The original PlantBottle™, introduced in 2009, includes MEG from sugarcane, but the PTA has been from oil-based sources until now. PlantBottle™ packaging looks, functions and recycles like traditional PET but has a lighter footprint on the planet and its resources.

Coca-Cola's new prototype plant-based bottle is made from plant-based paraxylene (bPX) - using a new process by Virent - which has been converted to plant-based terephthalic acid (bPTA). As the first beverage packaging material resulting from bPX produced at demonstration scale, this new technology signals a step-change in the commercial viability of the biomaterial. The bPX for this bottle was produced using sugar from corn, though the process lends itself to flexibility in feedstock.

The second breakthrough technology, which The Coca-Cola Company co-owns with Changchun Meihe Science & Technology, streamlines the bMEG production process and also allows for flexibility in feedstock, meaning more types of renewable materials can be used. Typically, bMEG is produced by converting sugarcane or corn into bioethanol as an intermediate, which is subsequently converted to bioethylene glycol. Now, sugar sources can directly produce MEG, resulting in a simpler process. UPM, the technology’s first licensee, is currently building a full-scale commercial facility in Germany to convert certified, sustainably sourced hardwood feedstock taken from sawmill and other wood industry side-streams to bMEG. This marks a significant milestone toward the commercialization of the technology.

“The inherent challenge with going through bioethanol is that you are competing with fuel,” said Dana Breed, Global R&D Director, Packaging and Sustainability, The Coca-Cola Company. “We needed a next-generation MEG solution that addressed this challenge, but also one that could use second generation feedstock like forestry waste or agricultural byproducts. Our goal for plant-based PET is to use surplus agricultural products to minimize carbon footprint, so the combination of technologies brought by the partners for commercialization is an ideal fit with this strategy."

In 2015, Coca-Cola unveiled its first prototype for a 100% bio-based PlantBottle™ at the Milan Expo using lab-scale production methods to produce bPX. This next-generation 100% plant-based bottle, however, has been made using new technologies to produce both biochemicals that make the bottle and are ready for commercial scaling.

Since introducing PlantBottle™, Coca-Cola has allowed non-competitive companies to use the technology and brand in their products—from Heinz Ketchup to the fabric interior in Ford Fusion hybrid cars. In 2018, the company opened up the PlantBottle™ IP more broadly to competitors in the beverage industry to scale up demand and drive down pricing.

As part of its World Without Waste vision, Coca-Cola is working to make all its packaging more sustainable, including maximizing use of recycled and renewable content while minimizing use of virgin, fossil material. The company has pledged to collect back the equivalent of every bottle it sells by 2030, so none of its packaging ends up as waste and old bottles are recycled into new ones; to make 100% of its packaging recyclable; and to ensure 50% of its packaging comes from recycled material.

This innovation supports the World Without Waste vision, specifically the recently announced target to use 3 million tons less of virgin plastic from oil-based sources by 2025. The Coca‑Cola Company will pursue this 20% reduction by investing in new recycling technologies like enhanced recycling, packaging improvements such as light-weighting, alternative business models such as refillable, dispensed and fountain systems, as well as the development of new renewable materials.

In Europe and Japan, Coca-Cola, with its bottling partners, aims to eliminate the use of oil-based virgin PET from plastic bottles altogether by 2030, using only recycled or renewable materials. While the majority of plastic packaging material will come from mechanically recycled content, some “virgin” material will still be needed to maintain quality standards. That’s why Coca-Cola is investing in and driving innovation to boost the supply of feedstock from renewable technologies as well as from enhanced recycling technologies. Enhanced recycling “upcycles” previously used PET plastics of any quality to high quality, food grade PET.

“We are taking significant steps to reduce use of ‘virgin’, oil-based plastic, as we work toward a circular economy and in support of a shared ambition of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” Quan said. “We see plant-based plastics as playing a critical role in our overall PET mix in the future, supporting our objectives to reduce our carbon footprint, reduce our reliance on ‘virgin’ fossil fuels and boost collection of PET in support of a circular economy.”