DuPont Packaging Diamond and Gold Winners

The DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation is the industry’s longest running, independently judged, global packaging awards program highlighting packaging materials, processes, technology and service innovations. Here are this year’s award winners who have utilized thoughtful design and sustainable benchmarks to create cost-effective solutions to reduce waste and improve the consumer experience.

Here are details on the winners with commentary from Dupont and its judges:

Diamond Winners
Excellence in Innovation, Cost/Waste Reduction and Sustainability

The Procter & Gamble Company and Be Green Packaging — USA
“In its new design, packaging for Gillette Fusion ProGlide moved away from a clamshell approach and opted instead for a formable pulp tray made of renewable bamboo and bulrush fiber-based material. This new package pushed the boundaries of pulp trays, reducing both cost and material weight. Additionally it is much easier to open, making it popular with consumers. The graphics strongly reinforce the product’s brand identity and support great shelf appeal.”

Ecovative Design — USA
“Thinking completely outside the box, Ecovative looked to nature and found an innovative, cost-effective, all-natural solution for protective secondary packaging used for items such as electronics. EcoCradle is grown from mycelium (mushroom “roots”) and regionally sourced agricultural byproducts, like cotton burrs and oat hulls. EcoCradle is completely composed of ultra-rapid renewable resources and is also home compostable. It is a cost-effective and sustainable replacement for Styrofoam or other materials used in protective packaging.”

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Gold Winners
Innovation and Sustainability or Innovation and Cost/Waste Reduction

Apeldoorn Flexible Packaging — The Netherlands; Cloeren Inc. — USA
“Stretch film for pallets unitization is an important type of secondary/tertiary packaging and a crucial part of the distribution chain that is often unnoticed by consumers. In developing the Katan-Ex microlayer stretch film, Apeldoorn Flexible Packaging used microlayer technology to design a stretch film with optimal properties for the beverage industry. The Katan-Ex microlayer film excels in increased pallet stability at elevated temperatures, uses 30 percent less material per pallet and reduces damage products during transportation by 80 percent.”

Scholle Packaging and Shell Global Lubricants — USA
“Scholle Packaging’s bag-in-box system for automotive chemicals and fluids allows industry suppliers to satisfy their customers’ needs with an efficient, environmentally conscious package. Each bag-in-box packaging system removes 24 one-liter bottles from the waste stream and features superior product evacuation, saving suppliers money and damage to our environment upon disposal into landfills. Overall, petroleum-based resin usage in the packaging is reduced by nearly 90 percent compared to rigid one-liter bottles, reducing impacts to our environment through the manufacture of the packaging system. During shipping, greenhouse gas emissions are overall lower than the incumbent packaging due to more-efficient cube utilization on trucks, in warehouses and at the end-user. The outer carton of the packaging system is also fully recyclable.”

Household Essentials, LLC — USA
“Replacing a traditional plastic outer wrap, Household Essentials packages its ironing board cover in a dual-functional, sewn-in cloth pouch that can be used later as a spray bottle holder. By eliminating the outer package completely via this pouch approach, Household Essentials reduces package weight by 14 percent and eliminated approximately 375,000 lbs of PVC from going into landfills. Additionally the smaller package size, being 35 percent smaller, reduces shipping costs and reduces retail display space by 30 percent. This approach yields a more upscale image and enhances shelf appeal to consumers who can touch and feel the product inside.”