Teabags Wrapped in Compostable Film
Innovia Films’ sustainable and compostable packaging film, NatureFlex™ has been chosen by Twinings to wrap one of its major tea products, Everyday. Founded in 1706, Twinings’ high-quality teas are enjoyed today in more than 100 countries around the globe.
The shift to metallized NatureFlex™ NM meets one of Twinings’ aims to use more sustainable packaging materials, enabling consumers to cut waste. “As a company, we are always looking at ways to lessen our impact on the environment. By using NatureFlex film as the inner wrap in this pack, it not only protects the teabags, but also makes it easier for our customers to reduce their waste through home composting,” said David Parkes, Twinings.
NatureFlex was an obvious solution for the packaging as the film begins life as a natural product—wood—and breaks down in a home compost bin (or industrial compost environment) within a matter of 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 NM is a cellulose-based film, manufactured from renewable wood pulp and metallized in-house. According to Innovia Films, it is the only metallized biodegradable film suitable for home composting because the level of metal is so small—less than 0.02 percent—which slows the film’s degradation by a matter of days but does not interfere with its biodegradability in any other way. Modified coatings ensure excellent metal laydown and adhesion providing a very high moisture barrier with a transmission rate of less than 10 g/m²/day (38degC, 90 percent RH). It is this high barrier that keeps Twinings Everyday teabags in premium condition.
ASP Packaging Ltd, a Watford-based company, provided the certified compostable printing in this flow wrap application for Twinings. “Having a great deal of experience in working with NatureFlex over a number of years and being aware of its green credentials, coupled with excellent machinability and ease of printing, we were delighted to support Twinings’ move to adopt such sustainable packaging. NatureFlex is extremely well suited to automated production like flow wrapping and is also a very easy film to print and convert,” said Alan Campbell, ASP Packaging Ltd.
NatureFlex 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 referenced suppliers operating Good Forestry principals (FSC or equivalent). NatureFlex films typically have a renewable biobased content of some 95 percent by weight of material.
“There is a perception in the marketplace that biomaterials simply cannot deliver the barrier properties required for dried goods,” said Andy Sweetman, Innovia Films’ Global Marketing Manager - Sustainable Technologies. “But technology is constantly moving on and Twinings use of NatureFlex NM shows that an increasing number of dried goods applications can be successfully delivered by NatureFlex films, without compromising on compostability and renewability characteristics.”
