Pioneering Innovation for a Purposeful Future

Replacing problem plastics in packaging with completely renewable fiber-based materials is the sustainable alternative consumers are both demanding and actively seeking. Image courtesy of Filtrona Tapes.

How Fiber-based Tear Tape Joins the Dots Between Customer Demands, Sustainability, Functionality and Value

By Christopher Morgan, Global Sales Director at Filtrona Tapes

From our Twitter feeds to our online grocery habits, companies know more about us than ever before. And, as more and more of our lives are lived online, the opportunities to pitch us ‘stuff’ we like are expanding exponentially.

But those concerned about planetary boundaries are worried. The personalization of marketing messages and ease of e-commerce has led to a consumption boom. We see it, and we want it, and click, we buy it. It’s a marketer’s dream, but – in a world of finite natural resources – it could compound our ongoing environmental nightmare.

Greener choices

Thanks to our new and unique tear tape technology, Rippatape® Halo is recyclable along with paper and board packs. The brand-new solution is the first paper tape of its kind in the Filtrona Tapes ECO Range. It is externally certified as recyclable with paper achieving an A+ level via the Italian National Recyclability Standard: UNI 11743 and MC 501: 2017 criteria.
Image courtesy of Filtrona Tapes.

The market today is dynamic – purpose is central to the conversation.

E-commerce’s rapid and vast expansion presents new challenges in shipping and packaging. Once, consumers shopped online through choice; a year ago, it was through necessity, and now it is a consumer habit that is unlikely to recede.

Packaging is a critical enabler for the everyday lives of most consumers. It helps to support the purchasing decision journey in retail stores, creates cost-efficient delivery systems for brand owners, minimizes product spoilage and food waste throughout the value chain, and facilitates the consumer’s need for convenience.

Increased pressure for sustainability has generated a growing appetite for innovation. Consumers demand and expect – and will even pay more for – sustainable products. This is especially true of packaging.

Sustainable packaging has become an ethical responsibility for packaging producers, and is central to the business models of consumer packaged goods companies and retailers. The marketplace, consumers and regulators are providing clear direction, and avoiding sustainability is a sizable commercial misstep.

Demand for more sustainable shipping also drives new efforts to minimize waste, promote green materials, and implement convenient recovery systems. Leading retailers are answering these expectations by providing hassle-free and recyclable materials, capitalizing on the new opportunity to delight the customer with aesthetically pleasing accessible packaging features.

Ease of opening

Ease of opening has long been a packaging concern for many consumers. Any discerning pack specifier or brand will know that packaging should never be a frustrating barrier to a product. Even when opening a special occasion gift or an exciting online order, the initial buzz can quickly turn to exasperation with a seemingly impenetrable package.

That’s why we’ve seen a flurry of investment in new, state-of-the-art sheet-fed applicator technology which is targeted at folder/gluer corrugate production lines.As businesses seek to bolster their creative packaging capabilities, demand is growing for tape-based opening devices for paper and board packaging.

The ability to securely seal yet easily open a pack cannot be undervalued. This is due to the sheer range of conditions that a package may be exposed to, from extreme temperatures to transportation by trucks or freight containers to warehousing and retail stores, along with high levels of human contact and movement. Anything used to seal boxes must be durable enough to withstand these varied conditions and provide a simple way to open it again when the parcel reaches its intended recipient.

Tear tape: a growth solution

The ability to securely seal yet easily open a pack cannot be undervalued. Filtrona Tapes believes in the power of tear tape and is ready to collaborate for a brighter future. We endeavor to unite the hands-on solutions for today with inventive solutions for tomorrow. We help businesses understand the barriers to change and cultivate a reinvention mindset that will make you impervious to disruption.
Image courtesy of Filtrona Tapes.

Circularity is primarily a consequence of the decisions made at the packaging design stage. Waste and pollution should be seen through the lens of design flaws rather than an inevitable result of manufacturing. Replacing problem plastics in packaging with completely renewable fiber-based materials is the sustainable alternative consumers are both demanding and actively seeking. By circulating material over and over, we can keep materials in use, design out waste and regenerate natural systems by reducing pressure on forests.

For now, though, another question surpasses all other considerations. How do we join the dots between seemingly disparate customer demands, sustainability, functionality and value?

Often scrupulously selected by the brands truly worth their sustainable salt, our breakthrough tear tape solution endeavors to help brands and converters around the world meet their environmental goals while providing customers with more circular curbside recyclable packaging options.

Tear tape solutions target the e-commerce market and aim to help packaging manufacturers and brand owners alike as they seek to exceed consumers’ environmental and product experience expectations. Fiber-based tear tape is recyclable along with paper and board packs, is fully reclaimable, eliminates the plastic film used in standard tear tapes, and focuses on fiber recovery — and does not compromise on the easy opening credentials of its plastic alternative. This is truly impressive from a product based on a single-ply, specialized coated paper with no plastic films or laminates.

In a world of incessant change, we are threatened by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – at the individual and organizational levels. It’s essential to view change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. Whether your brand is premium or value-led, we can create return-ready, memorable and true-to-brand packaging solutions that drive sales and improve recall.

The retail environment has never been more exciting. It’s more competitive but also changing more quickly than ever before. As the e-commerce market matures, new and more innovative forms of packaging are creating opportunities to make the online retail experience more engaging, targeted and less wasteful.

About the Author

Christopher Morgan leads Filtrona Tapes’ sales efforts with a truly global perspective on customer’s business needs and how to best bring innovative solutions to them. Filtrona Tapes is a market leader in producing tape solutions that help to open, close, inform and protect packaging, and home of Rippatape^®, Supastrip^®, RE:CLOSE™ and VakTape™. For more information, visit https://filtrona.com/tapes.