UK based Swanline Paper & Board, part of the Swanline Group, has committed to removing all plastic substrates from its product portfolio by January 2020. The hybrid paper and board merchant and converter launched two 100% fibre based, FSC certified, compostable, recyclable and biodegradable ranges in 2018. Cygnus® Eco Board and Cygnus® Excellent Board can replace a number of single use plastic substrates used in the packaging and point of sale sectors.
Ross Griffin, Managing Director Swanline Paper & Board explains, “Going plastic free is the obvious next step for us and we are committed to offering our customers solutions that have high performance in terms of durability and longevity, yet are cost neutral in many instances. Packaging and point of sale materials are some of the largest contributors to the single use plastic issue and we are dedicated to offering alternatives that are made from sustainable sources. Last year we launched Cygnus® Eco and Cygnus® Excellent boards and we are seeing growing demand for both substrates in the packaging and point of sale sectors.
“Cygnus® Eco Board is a leading environmentally friendly, 100% fibre-based board and is resistant to moisture so is perfect for outdoor use and short term moisture sensitive packaging, point of sale and signage. Cygnus® Eco Board can replace soft foam boards, foam PVC, fluted polypropylene, PE coated materials, HIPS and other plastic composites – even aluminium composite. Cygnus® Excellent is perfect for indoor use and can replace foam PVC, styrene and foam boards which are typically used for retail signage and POS.”
Swanline Group has seven constructional designers and the team has already developed 25 designs where Cygnus® Eco Board can replace single use plastics. This work is ongoing. Applications range from e-commerce packaging, fruit punnets and picnic boxes to clip strips, mop trays, bollard covers and ice buckets to mention but a few.
Ross Griffin says, “Our offering to our customers goes beyond simply being a paper and board merchant. We want to use the skills and experience we have across the Group, to work with our customers to develop solutions for which the Cygnus® Eco and Excellent boards can be used. Our vertically integrated model provides us with the scale and resources to be able to reverse engineer a product and identify where and how we can add value. The designs we have developed to date have been prototyped and tested, re-modified and tested and we have built up so many learnings that we want to work with our customers to maximise the potential our products have for brands, retailers and ultimately consumers.”
