Technology & Innovation: Page 6

  • Two people in yellow safety vests stand in a Nefab warehouse with wooden crates
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    Courtesy of Nefab
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    Packaging companies invest in design, training centers during November

    UFP Packaging, TriMas, TransPak, Nefab and others announced openings and investments in innovation or training centers, touting benefits for design collaboration and upskilling.

    By • Nov. 27, 2024
  • Hundreds of people in a convention center
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Stories from Pack Expo International 2024

    At the largest Pack Expo event ever held, Packaging Dive connected with manufacturers, brands and trade groups for insight on the latest industry trends.

    By Packaging Dive Staff • Updated Nov. 14, 2024
  • Three different sizes of cartons that bear branding for Pactiv Evergreen's SmartPour.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Packaging innovations at Pack Expo 2024: Pactiv Evergreen cartons go dry, Packsize melts emissions

    Plus, Accredo Packaging sweetens the pouch space with a 100% biobased bag, Greif shows off a recycled fiber food container with a water-based coating and Georgia-Pacific’s mailers get gusseted up.

    By , • Nov. 8, 2024
  • An aerial view of exhibitors set up in a large convention hall.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Automation, labor shortage discussions permeate largest-ever Pack Expo

    Sustainability also sat among the top themes at Pack Expo International in Chicago this week, including a focus on reusable and flexible packaging. PMMI says the event broke records for attendance and the number of exhibitors.

    By • Nov. 7, 2024
  • Close-up view of zippers for compostable packaging from Fresh-Lock
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    Permission granted by Fresh-Lock
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    Packaging suppliers and CPGs increasingly zip up flexible packaging

    Experts from Fresh-Lock, the U.S. Plastics Pact and Clemson University say that functionality testing covering closure durability and accessibility is critical among a range of consumers. 

    By Shefali Kapadia • Nov. 6, 2024
  • A paper-based cup and a wooden stir stick with Southwest Airlines branding sit on an airline tray table next to a window.
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    Courtesy of Southwest Airlines
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    Southwest Airlines brings bamboo on board for new cups

    The airline recently stirred up change when it began stocking the bamboo-based cold beverage cups and wooden stir sticks, following a yearlong R&D process stemming from plastic reduction goals. 

    By • Oct. 29, 2024
  • Kroger Ocado
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    Courtesy of Kroger
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    Kroger rolls out Avery Dennison RFID tech

    The automation technology aims to provide more frequent and accurate inventory insight to prevent food waste and streamline in-store operations. 

    By Peyton Bigora • Oct. 24, 2024
  • A clear plastic thermoform container for strawberries with Gem-Pack Berries' logo.
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    Permission granted by Gem-Pack Berries
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    Gem-Pack Berries ditches clamshell labels with Multisteps’ digital printing technology

    Multisteps Industries expects its direct-to-packaging printing to improve recyclability for Gem-Pack’s PET clamshells for berries, starting this year.

    By • Oct. 18, 2024
  • A person wearing an augmented reality headset uses calipers in an industrial facility.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Deep Dive

    Reality check: AR, VR transforms training for packaging manufacturers

    Augmented and virtual reality experiences at Greif, Papacks, Smurfit Westrock and Sonoco are working to boost employees’ skills and safety, pushing packaging manufacturing training into its “next era.”

    By • Oct. 16, 2024
  • People holding coffee cups with natural-colored, fiber-based lids.
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    Courtesy of PulPac
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    Q&A

    PulPac leverages partnerships to advance its dry molded fiber technology

    The company is experiencing growth as it touts its technology's carbon footprint benefits over the wet molding process. Identifying coatings free of PFAS is a sticking point, says Chief Commercial Officer Sanna Fager.

    By • Oct. 15, 2024
  • A person using two hands to unscrew Rare Beauty's Soft Pinch liquid blush
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    Permission granted by Rare Beauty
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    Deep Dive

    ‘Everybody benefits’: Why the beauty industry needs to get serious about accessible packaging

    Rare Beauty and Target have taken steps to develop guidance around universally accessible design, but the industry isn’t prioritizing it yet.

    By Caroline Jansen • Oct. 15, 2024
  • A graphic depicting, from left to right, the current How2Recycle icons and the proposed redesigned How2Recycle icons
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    Permission granted by GreenBlue
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    How2Recycle revamp

    How2Recycle doesn’t want to abandon the chasing arrows

    Consumer comprehension data played a central role in how How2Recycle redesigned its instructional label, leaders of the process explained. But potential restrictions in California pose a challenge.

    By • Updated Oct. 14, 2024
  • Four different colored cans of wine on an in-flight tray table.
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    Courtesy of United Airlines
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    Packaging innovations: United Airlines’ canned wine, Chivas Regal’s light spirits

    Plus, RXDco puts cannabis in a cocoon, Novolex flags product tampering and KYSU switches from plastic to paper. 

    By • Oct. 11, 2024
  • Fiber packaging on equipment at a shipment fulfillment center.
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    Permission granted by Amazon
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    Brands make packaging design changes for e-commerce compatibility

    Pandemic-related and sustainability trends, along with Amazon's requirements, are among the factors prompting Clorox, Mars Wrigley and Nestlé to tweak product packaging designs they use for e-commerce.

    By • Oct. 10, 2024
  • A woman in a supermarket smiles and holds a smartphone above a carton
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    Courtesy of GreenBlue
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    How2Recycle revamp

    How2Recycle Plus ready to take dynamic labels mainstream

    The new offering features a QR code so consumers can access localized recycling information. It will come at a higher price to brands than the more traditional How2Recycle Pro label. Danone will be the first to adopt it.

    By • Oct. 4, 2024
  • A box of Hot Pockets microwaveable sandwiches.
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    Permission granted by Nestlé USA
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    Packaging innovations: Hot Pockets go sleeveless, Henkel’s coating lightens dry food packaging

    Plus, hair care brand Overtone joins a Target sustainability initiative as it launches tubes with a new look and PCR.

    By • Oct. 4, 2024
  • A person in glasses and a long sleeve shirt stands on a stage in front of the word "Advance"
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    Permission granted by GreenBlue
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    How2Recycle revamp

    The How2Recycle label is getting a new look

    The campaign to transform the instructional label program involves a refreshed design, enhanced data sources and partners handling different aspects of the system, and planning for greater investment in consumer education.

    By • Oct. 1, 2024
  • A view of vendor displays on the show floor at Pack Expo East at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on March 20, 2024.
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    Maria Rachal/Packaging Dive
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    Packaging trade shows to watch in 2025

    Mark your calendar: These U.S. conferences and events will cover timely trends in sustainable packaging design, recycling technologies, regional market trends, substrate evolutions, automation and more.

    By Packaging Dive Staff • Updated May 9, 2025
  • A lineup of plastic cleaning product containers without labels
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    Getty Images
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    Q&A

    What’s next for product certification amid concerns about PFAS and toxics in plastic

    Lagging regulation and a potential “toxic treadmill” with recycled content are viewed as just some of today’s pressing challenges. Clean Production Action Executive Director Mark Rossi reflects on two decades of change in the field.

    By • Sept. 30, 2024
  • Three people sit in chairs on a stage and one person stands at a podium, with a green background behind all of them that says Packaging Recycling Summit.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Insights from the 2024 Packaging Recycling Summit

    AI applications, recycled plastic supply and demand, and how brands are thinking about extended producer responsibility were among the topics Packaging Dive covered from this year’s event in California.

    By • Sept. 27, 2024
  • Nespresso
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    Courtesy of Nespresso
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    Nespresso spotlights aluminum in marketing campaign

    The Nestlé coffee brand timed the campaign to New York's Climate Week as it seeks to position itself as a more sustainable format than other single-use coffee products.

    By Sara Karlovitch • Sept. 27, 2024
  • Two bottles of wine - one rose, one chardonnay - on a wood table with a charcutier board, and two empty wine glasses
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    Courtesy of Albertsons Companies
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    Packaging innovations: Bottle material changes from Albertsons and Johnnie Walker

    Plus, Cambio Roasters and Glatfelter debut new coffee pod packaging, while Sleever partners with Carbios for a biodegradable shrink sleeve.

    By • Sept. 27, 2024
  • A large screen at a conference shows how artificial intelligence works for recycling equipment.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Advancements push AI from jargon into practice for packaging management

    Glacier demonstrated at the Packaging Recycling Summit how it developed new AI models through partnerships with Colgate and Amazon to capture more recyclables at MRFs.

    By • Sept. 26, 2024
  • Driscoll's
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    Permission granted by Driscoll's
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    Thermoform reclamation rises along with rPET demand

    As one speaker at the Packaging Recycling Summit called thermoforms an “untapped source” for reclaimed PET, Rumpke Waste & Recycling plans to begin accepting the containers in curbside recycling.

    By • Sept. 24, 2024
  • Aerial view indoors of a warehouse space with Home Depot boxes on pallets
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    Courtesy of The Home Depot
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    Home Depot phases out EPS, PVC in fiber packaging overhaul

    The process required ample testing and collaboration. “We sell light bulbs, we sell appliances, we sell toilets. These are products that are prone to damage if they are not secured with the right packaging,” said one sustainability leader.

    By • Sept. 20, 2024