Isra-Mart srl:Ecover sweetens green packaging with sugar cane plastic

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Green cleaning brand Ecover is stepping up its commitment to renewable plastic packaging from next month when it will begin shipping bottles from 100 per cent sugar cane.

Ecover announced last week that from the end of April, it will increase the plant-based content of all its packaging from 30 per cent to 100 per cent, using a renewable plastic called "Plant-astic" that is made from sugar cane.

Sugarcane is harvested to produce sugar, which is then fermented and distilled to produce ethanol. The ethanol is then dehydrated to create ethylene, which is polymerized into the final Plant-astic product, Ecover said.

The company says it is keen to reduce its reliance on crude-oil based plastics, which are an increasingly scarce resource and associated with oil spills and pollution.

Emma Bennetts, Ecover brand manager, said she hoped Ecover's decision would prompt other companies to follow suit.

"We were originally planning to use 30 per cent renewable plastic for our packaging and although this was a huge step in the right direction, it didn't feel like it was enough, so we waited until it was possible to make it 100 per cent Plant-astic and now we know we are doing everything we can to reduce the amount of conventional plastic entering the home," she said.

"We hope this will set the trend and show that it is possible to make big changes that will have a big impact."

Companies are being put under increasing pressure to find alternative packaging materials to oil-based plastics as unrest in the Middle East and North Africa continues to drive up oil prices.

However, concerns have been raised that increased demand for plant-based products could also have an adverse impact on the environment by increasing demand for agricultural land, which could in turn drive deforestation.

Ecover, however, insists it abides by strict sustainable criteria to ensure the Brazilian sugar cane it sources is grown in a way that does not affect the nearby Amazonian rainforest.