Launched two months ago by founding partners PA Consulting and PulPac, the Swedish R&D and IP company behind Dry Molded Fiber technology, the Bottle Collective is an initiative focused on creating a fiber bottle to serve as an alternative to single-use plastic bottles in food, drink, consumer health and FMCG industries based on PulPac’s proprietary Dry Molded Fiber technology.“The Dry Molded Fiber technology is versatile and enables the production of pretty much any rigid, three-dimensional object you can think up, including bottles. We have created the technology to shape, add graphics, deboss, emboss, and choose colors, patterns, and prints to elevate brands,” said Sanna Fager, Chief Commercial Officer at PulPac.
The first functioning bottle prototypes have already been produced.
Now, the effort has been joined by two new founding partners: the global consumer health companies Sanofi and Haleon, both of which are working to continue the development of an industrial, recyclable, high-speed, low-cost Dry Molded Fiber bottle process. The aim is to achieve the large scale production of branded alternatives to single-use and commodity plastic bottles by 2025.
PulPac is a patented sustainable product and packaging solution that uses sustainably sourced cellulose fibre. The DMF technology used to make these solutions reduces the use of energy and water compared to other production methods, creating a bottle with a significantly reduced environmental footprint.
“We are focused on accelerating progress towards a recyclable alternative to single-use plastic bottles. Partnerships with global brands across industries are critical to deliver real impact. Sanofi and Haleon are committed to environmental action and we welcome their vast knowledge to help further our collective mission,” said Tony Perrotta, PulPac Partnership Lead at PA Consulting.
France Depaix, global head of design, product sustainability and packaging innovation at Consumer Healthcare at Sanofi, noted that initiatives like the Bottle Collective provide a ‘real opportunity to work together across industries …to accelerate innovations in packaging and help to tackle the global plastic waste issue’.
“We are taking action to reduce waste and increase recyclability across our business and the wider industry, and a key part of this includes collaborating with partners,” she said.
“We’re aiming to create a future for consumer health product packaging which is more sustainable and more inclusive. By partnering and collaborating in new ways, we will enable Haleon and the wider industry to accelerate the adoption of new packaging solutions that are responsibly designed and fit-for-purpose for the next generation,” added Alex James Orchard, head of R&D Packaging at Haleon.