Breaking new ground on the eco front, continuing its campaign to help reduce the industry’s environmental impact, greeting card printer Loxleys has collaborated with Clarifoil film manufacturer Celanese Corporation to launch what is claimed to be the greeting card industry’s first ‘cello bag’ made of home compostable material.
This biodegradable and home compostable Clarifoil film which has been found to be suitable for wrapping greeting cards will be launched on Loxleys’ stand at PG Live next week. (Tuesday 4 June and Wednesday 5 June at London’s Business Design Centre).
While ‘compostable’ film for greeting cards has been available in the market for some time it was not suitable for home composting and required an industrial composting facility, a facility that is not easily accessible for the UK consumer.
Explaining, Tony Lorriman, managing director of the Sheffield-based Loxleys, which prints for many UK greeting card publishers, said “working with Celanese we have succeeded in developing the application of the Clarifoil film for the greeting card market. Formulated with a special grade of wood pulp, the bio-film guarantees exceptional transparency and gloss. Importantly, the main raw material is renewable and sustainably sourced from PEFC certified forestry. It guarantees 100% GMO free and doesn’t exhaust fossil oil resources.”
The news comes following two rounds of trials at the Sheffield print works to check that the film not only has the clarity required for greeting cards, but can also be used for machine wrapping and does not ripple during the heat sealing process.
“The Celanese team were on site for both trials and were over the moon with the results. We are now very much looking forward to the launch at PG Live,” said Alice Buck, Loxleys’ marketing co-ordinator.
As the film is certified by Home Compost OK, publishers adopting the substrate will have the option of featuring the official accreditation logo on a label or on the bag itself to inform the card purchaser.
Loxleys will also be launching its Secure-Seal at this year’s PG Live exhibition (on Stand 538). This is the Sheffield-based printer’s solution to holding both the card and envelope securely together with a completely removable label, meaning neither element is damaged, but the card is displayed securely at retail. (Loxleys’ Secure-Seal joins Woodmansterne’s Smart Seal label https://www.pgbuzz.net/woodmansterne-starts-its-smart-seal-switch-to-unwrapped-cards/ and greeting card printer Windles’ Kard Klasp option. https://www.pgbuzz.net/windles-seals-the-naked-deal-with-kard-klasp/
Top: The new Clarifoil option from Loxleys means that publishers can have their cards wrapped in bags that can be homecomposted.
