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Sustainable Protection for Heavy and Bulky Furniture
What works for consumer goods also works for furniture: sustainable packaging is also in demand for the transportation of sofas, wardrobes and bedrooms. The retailer XXXLutz has developed new packaging materials with the Scandinavian packaging manufacturer Stora Enso.
Fully recyclable packaging and upholstery: The XXXLutz group of companies has successfully completed the test phase. This marks a milestone in the development of natural, bio-based and recyclable cellulose products made from wood for the protection and packaging of everyday furnishing products, explains the company. Mäusbacher Möbelfabrik has delivered children's furniture manufactured exclusively for XXXLutz furniture stores in sustainable, paper-based packaging. There are also plans to launch a complete range of children's furniture in the new, fully recyclable packaging.
“We have been testing for almost a year, gaining new insights and continuously incorporating them into further development. This perseverance has now brought us to our goal,” said Sascha Matzner, who is responsible for the XXXLutz Group's ESG division. The basis for the joint development is “Papira”, a lightweight wood foam from the Scandinavian manufacturer Stora Enso. The recyclable padding materials in inner packaging are an alternative to polystyrene or other plastic packaging materials.
The XXXLutz Group initiated the project around a year ago and intensified discussions with suppliers and manufacturers. Ultimately, at the end of the process with almost 100 case tests, furniture was shipped in the jointly developed packaging and padding.
“The fact that we are now launching the first product on the market that is transported in this new type of packaging is a milestone,” says Günter Franc, responsible for packaging technology. This “test batch”, which is being launched with Mäusbacher, will be thoroughly analyzed and the resulting findings will form the basis for a complete children's furniture range, which will be produced exclusively for XXXLutz in polystyrene-free and completely recyclable packaging. The wood-based foam product Papira from Stora Enso is recyclable, as are the other materials used – paper and cardboard – and can be disposed of in waste paper and thus returned to the cycle.
Packaging manufacturer Mondi has also developed packaging for furniture and similar goods. For example, roll packaging made of paper for foam mattresses. Mattress manufacturer Megaflex Schaumstoff has replaced its entire range of plastic roll packaging with paper.
IKEA massively reduces plastic
Other furniture stores are also focusing on new packaging - and above all using less material. The Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is one of the global heavyweights with around one million tons of packaging material. Sustainable packaging is also a major issue at IKEA. IKEA has already massively reduced its use of plastic in recent years.
Eliminating stretch film and plastic straps will be IKEA's next major contribution to the circular economy, said Allan Dickner, Packaging Development Leader at IKEA of Sweden, in an interview with FACHPACK360°.
Paper packaging has long been an alternative to polystyrene padding. The packaging start-up Proservation uses spelt husks to protect products during transportation. In the first process step, husks are peeled from the grain in the mill. Large quantities of these husks go largely unused – in Germany alone, over 120,000 tons of spelt husks are produced as waste every year. Proservation has found a way to process the husks into a packaging material that is marketed under the name Recou and has all the properties of conventional packaging materials. The difference: it is completely biodegradable.
Like Stora Enso, Proservation presented its packaging solutions at FACHPACK 2024. FACHPACK exhibitors will also be showcasing sustainable products for the packaging industry in 2025. You can now secure the early booking discount for exhibitors until 01.12.2024!
