Innovia Films sustainable and compostable packaging film, NatureFlex, is chosen by Twinings to wrap one of their tea products, Everyday. The shift to metallised NatureFlex packaging film meets Twinings’ aim to use sustainable packaging materials, enabling consumers to cut waste.
According to Twinings, using the NatureFlex film as the inner wrap in this pack protects the teabags and makes it easy for customers to reduce their waste through home composting. NatureFlex packaging film begins life as a natural product, wood, and breaks down in a home compost bin or industrial compost environment within weeks. It also offers advantages for packing and converting such as inherent deadfold and anti-static properties, high gloss and transparency, resistance to grease and oil, good barrier to gases and aromas and a wide heat-seal range.
NatureFlex packaging film is a cellulose-based film, manufactured from renewable wood pulp and metallised in-house. The metallised biodegradable film is suitable for home composting because the level of metal is less. Modified coatings ensure metal lay-down and adhesion providing a high moisture barrier with a transmission rate of less than 10g/m²/day (38degC, 90% RH).
ASP Packaging, a Watford based company, provided the compostable printing in this flow wrap application for Twinings. According to ASP Packaging, NatureFlex packaging film is suitable for automated production such as flow wrapping and is also easy to print and convert.
NatureFlex packaging films are cellulose-based, derived from renewable wood-pulp and are certified to meet both the European EN13432 and American ASTM D6400 standards for compostable packaging. The wood-pulp is sourced from managed plantations from suppliers operating Good Forestry principals (FSC or equivalent). NatureFlex packaging films have a renewable biobased content of 95% by weight of material.
There is a perception that biomaterials cannot deliver the barrier properties required for dried goods. However, Twinings use of NatureFlex packaging films show that dried goods applications can be delivered by NatureFlex packaging films, without compromising on compostability and renewability characteristics.