Clipping Waste: Two Advances in Sustainable Packaging

Here at Innovative Plastech, our strength in effectively manufacturing plastic packaging is just as great as our talents in designing it. Our name is no accident – and we’re certainly proud of our innovation in developing products like the Beverage Bucket. But that doesn’t mean we’re not just as impressed when we see great examples of ingenuity from other manufacturers. While it’s pretty difficult to reinvent the wheel when it comes to clamshell packaging, these two stories show that incremental improvements are not only always possible, and always being made.

We’ll first take a look at Proctor and Gamble’s new packaging design for Gillette razor blades. Believe it or not, those packages have been getting smaller – one product line had a 49% plastic reduction in 2004, and another one had the same in 2006. This latest effort (on a third product line) reduces total plastic use by 57%, by using a mixture of various fibrous materials like bamboo and bulrush in its place. As if that wasn’t enough, the cost savings are passed on to shipping and inventory concerns: overall package weight is reduced by 20%, and the new design is more crush-resistant.

This next example provided a perfect example of how both product and package can be assessed and modified to create something new on both fronts. A lettuce producer, Tanimura & Antle, determined that lettuce with roots attached kept just as long on store shelves as lettuce with no roots. Further, while from store to store customers might have a preference, region-wide, there was no difference. With the space savings afforded by the rootless leaves, the company designed a new, smaller clamshell that is lighter, takes up less space, and provides for top-quality freshness from harvest time through salad time. This willingness to take a step back and assess all aspects of a packaging problem is exactly what leads to the innovative solutions required for sustainability and success in today’s packaging world.

A Look Back at SHOT Show 2012

Last week’s 2012 SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade) Show in Las Vegas, which took place January 17th through 20th, showcased the best in new and classic equipment for shooting sports, hunting, and law enforcement.  Industry leaders like Remington, Beretta, Bushmaster, Glock and Winchester were all there displaying their wares and trying to get a piece of the lucrative $36.4 billion sporting firearms market.  If that wasn’t enough to get people to show up, they also had a special appearance by Larry the Cable Guy! Neat.

But besides those big manufacturers, Innovative Plastech also played a pretty big role at SHOT. You might be asking yourself, “wait…Innovative Plastech makes guns?”

Well, we don’t make guns, bullets or vests, but we do make the packaging that all kinds of firearm accessories are displayed and sold in. Products like holsters, gun magazines, blueguns/training guns and ammunition are often packaged and displayed in Innovative Plastech’s products. As always, all of our packaging – much like everything being shown at SHOT – offers a great combination of security and visibility. Our outstanding clamshells are made of 100% recyclable materials like PVC, APET and PETG, and our trays are a great way to move your products while keeping them free of damage. And that’s always a good idea when you’re dealing with ammunition.

CES Preview: Some of the Coolest Gadgets on Display

A full computer on a USB stick, your own personal cinematographer, and a fitness consultant on a wristwatch. These are just a few of the newest productivity enhancers that will be exhibited as part of CES 2012’s “Last Gadget Standing” competition. Did we say “productivity enhancers?” Maybe they are – but to us, they also seem like a glimpse into the future, available now.  Looking down the list of competitors, a few stand out to us – both as great new items that we’d like to have, and as definite candidates for clamshell packaging.

Cotton Candy: Named for its light weight, this flash drive-appearing device actually packs an entire computer – OS, 64GB of storage, and wireless access to the cloud – into a few centimeters of real estate. An HDMI connection allows it to plug into any display with that type of input – whether computer monitor or HDTV – and it can also expand the capabilities of Windows and Mac computers.

Swivl: Taking the iPhone’s Facetime and self-portrait functions one step further, this motion-tracking device keeps you in every shot, without the need to hold the camera at arms’ length. Simply dock your iPhone in the swiveling, circular device, and press “Record.” Sensors track your every move, making sure you get all the camera time you want.

Basis Band: Normally, you’d have to be running on a treadmill in a doctor’s office, hooked up to a bunch of electrodes, to get this much information about your vital signs. With the appearance of a wristwatch, the Basis Band combines about six different devices into one. Heart rate monitor, steps-per-day counter, calories-burned tracker: all the standards are taken care of. But once you stop moving, the Basis keeps working: it tracks your sleep patterns and quality, and combines all readings into an overall report on your health and habits.

With these products just representing the tip of the technological iceberg, we couldn’t be more excited for what else CES 2012 has in store. Check back for reports and recaps in upcoming weeks. And be sure to visit us at CES 2012 at Booth #35477!

Why Clamshells? Here Are A Few Reasons

It’s probably been around for as long as clamshell packaging itself: that old complaint about why product packaging has to be so difficult to open. It seems like the holidays churn up the debate even more every year, and you may have heard it – or participated in it – yourself over the past few days. But like any good product that’s stuck around, the clamshell exists for a reason. This article outlines some basic tenets of marketing and packaging as a whole, with a great deal of focus on clamshells. Read more about some of the benefits below:

•    Product Visibility: This refers not so much to shelf space as to the ability to actually see the product. Products packaged in closed boxes incur an additional cost for photography and printing, just to show consumers what they’re getting, often in a smaller size or at an odd angle. Clamshells save money in that area by letting them see it for themselves – exactly as it is.

•    Theft Prevention: As anyone who’s wielded a pair of scissors (or thought about a chainsaw) to make their way through a plastic clamshell to the reward inside knows, they’re not a 1-2-3 process to open. This aids in theft prevention as well – unsavory characters lurking in store aisles can’t just snap the casing open to grab their loot, and the larger clamshell is not easy to smuggle past a security guard.

•    Stand out – and fit in: This is sort of a chicken-and-egg conundrum. If you make headphones, and all headphones come in clamshells, will putting your headphones in a box set you apart? Or will it make customers tune you out, scanning for the familiar packaging that they’re used to? The article’s expert suggests the latter, and instead recommends that designers and marketers focus their energy on innovation within the framework of the clamshell.

Any more questions? Get in touch with Innovative Plastech with your application details!

CES 2012: Innovative Plastech Prepares for the Conference

What better way to start the new year than by showcasing, and getting a look at, some new products? We can’t think of any, so we’re gearing up for the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, held in Las Vegas from January 10th through the 13th. With booth number 35477, the show is a great chance to meet and interact with longstanding customers and new partners alike, face to face. Our success and integrity in the electronics packaging business is well known, and it’s exciting to see what kinds of new products are out there and what kinds of standards manufacturers are looking for, giving us a chance to flex our innovation muscles.

To that end, we’re especially drawn to the possibilities of two materials: recycled PET, and bio-based TerraPet. We’ll focus more on these advances in a future blog, but for now, we’re confident that their uses will be a major topic of discussion in packaging at the show. TerraPet has only been on the market for a year or so, but its potential is already apparent: one cell phone accessory company is mandating its use in all product packaging. Stay tuned to our blog for more news on TerraPet and CES 2012!

GFSI and More at FDCPMC’s Winter Conference 2011

As we put November in the books, Innovative Plastech will today be recapping the FDCPMC Winter Conference 2011, which occurred just a few short weeks ago in San Antonio, TX.  FDCPMC – the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Packaging Materials Committee – is an important part of the Plastics Industry Trade Association, and focuses heavily on safe practices in packaging manufacture and distribution. The Winter Conference is always a great opportunity to reinforce the goals of the organization, and the industry at large, as well as to learn about a host of topics, from newly developed best practices to safer, more efficient packaging materials.

One of this year’s hot topics was GFSI, the Global Food Safety Initiative. Of the many impressive qualities of GFSI, its ability to efficiently evolve and adapt to changing times and technology is one of the most promising. This is, perhaps, unsurprising, as a major benefit and goal of GFSI is efficiency in safe packaging, but it is impressive and often inspirational to see a multi-national set of guidelines able to stay so up-to-date. Often, the self-interests of member parties and nations can grind these processes to a near-halt, but, as evidenced by the programs at the FDCPMC conference, GFSI remains as relevant and effective as ever, as it nears its 12th year in existence. Be sure to view SPI’s website for more information on the conference, and stay tuned to our blog for more plastic and packaging news!