Browsing by Subject "packaging"

The aim of the study was to investigate cornerstones of a communications strategy for a start-up specializing to wood-based packaging materials. These include packaging materials, which are produced in a sustainable way and decrease environmental load with their biodegradability. These cornerstones are basis for a globally profitable and competitive business. Literature review and qualitative interviews were used as a method. The circular economy business model enables a new way to operate and generate competitive advantage for a start-up. The plastics industry claims biodegradability of some forms; the communication challenge of the competitors is to prove these arguments false. Launching world-wide renewable wood-based packaging material to consumers and to packaging industry requires co-operation between all stakeholders. To be a true alternative to plastics, the product must be based on sustainability principles, recyclability and compostability. To avoid greenwashing, all communication must be based on reliable and verifiable information. The developed communications strategy addresses all the aforementioned challenges. The communications strategy focuses on younger generation consumers and rely on their ability to utilize social media in their communications. A circular economy start-up company must outperform plastics packaging manufacturers economically, environmentally and socially with sustainable packaging solutions. Nevertheless, based on this thesis, sustainability is a valid selling and communications argument. The interviews conducted by this thesis support this finding.

The purpose of this study was to examine the integrated climatic impacts of forestry and the use fibre-based packaging materials. The responsible use of forest resources plays an integral role in mitigating climate change. Forests offer three generic mitigation strategies; conservation, sequestration and substitution. By conserving carbon reservoirs, increasing the carbon sequestration in the forest or substituting fossil fuel intensive materials and energy, it is possible to lower the amount of carbon in the atmosphere through the use of forest resources. The Finnish forest industry consumed some 78 million m3 of wood in 2009, while total of 2.4 million tons of different packaging materials were consumed that same year in Finland. Nearly half of the domestically consumed packaging materials were wood-based. Globally the world packaging material market is valued worth annually some €400 billion, of which the fibre-based packaging materials account for 40 %. The methodology and the theoretical framework of this study are based on a stand-level, steady-state analysis of forestry and wood yields. The forest stand data used for this study were obtained from Metla, and consisted of 14 forest stands located in Southern and Central Finland. The forest growth and wood yields were first optimized with the help of Stand Management Assistant software, and then simulated in Motti for forest carbon pools. The basic idea was to examine the climatic impacts of fibre-based packaging material production and consumption through different forest management and end-use scenarios. Economically optimal forest management practices were chosen as the baseline (1) for the study. In the alternative scenarios, the amount of fibre-based packaging material on the market decreased from the baseline. The reduced pulpwood demand (RPD) scenario (2) follows economically optimal management practices under reduced pulpwood price conditions, while the sawlog scenario (3) also changed the product mix from packaging to sawnwood products. The energy scenario (4) examines the impacts of pulpwood demand shift from packaging to energy use. The final scenario follows the silvicultural guidelines developed by the Forestry Development Centre Tapio (5). The baseline forest and forest product carbon pools and the avoided emissions from wood use were compared to those under alternative forest management regimes and end-use scenarios. The comparison of the climatic impacts between scenarios gave an insight into the sustainability of fibre-based packaging materials, and the impacts of decreased material supply and substitution. The results show that the use of wood for fibre-based packaging purposes is favorable, when considering climate change mitigation aspects of forestry and wood use. Fibre-based packaging materials efficiently displace fossil carbon emissions by substituting more energy intensive materials, and they delay biogenic carbon re-emissions to the atmosphere for several months up to years. The RPD and the sawlog scenarios both fared well in the scenario comparison. These scenarios produced relatively more sawnwood, which can displace high amounts of emissions and has high carbon storing potential due to the long lifecycle. The results indicate the possibility that win-win scenarios exist by shifting production from pulpwood to sawlogs; on some of the stands in the RPD and sawlog scenarios, both carbon pools and avoided emissions increased from the baseline simultaneously. On the opposite, the shift from packaging material to energy use caused the carbon pools and the avoided emissions to diminish from the baseline. Hence the use of virgin fibres for energy purposes, rather than forest industry feedstock biomass, should be critically judged if optional to each other. Managing the stands according to the silvicultural guidelines developed by the Forestry Development Centre Tapio provided the least climatic benefits, showing considerably lower carbon pools and avoided emissions. This seems interesting and worth noting, as the guidelines are the current basis for the forest management practices in Finland.

One of the most common packaging materials for food is polymers. The properties offered by plastic packaging are good for food, but there is a general demand to reduce the usage of plastic. The demand for reduction is due to the fact that plastic is often made from fossil raw materials. In the case of foodstuffs, it is not possible to completely remove the plastic packaging material as this would result in faster food spoilage and thus greater food waste. The amount of plastic can be reduced by using it as part of the multilayer material. In multilayer materials, the most common raw material is cardboard, which is generated from renewable raw materials. In addition to plastic packaging made of virgin material, plastic materials made from recycled polymers may also be used in food packaging in future, provided that their safety conditions are met. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of freezing temperatures and ultraviolet radiation (UV) on the properties and aging of recycled plastic. The research methods were divided into physical, barrier and chemical measurements. Samples were imaged using a scanning electron microscope. The hypothesis in the study was that freezing conditions and UV treatment both age the packaging material. UV radiation is expected to age samples more than freezing conditions. The study will focus on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and LDPE (low density polyethylene) coated cardboards. The study partially answers to the hypothesis. Frost conditions were had weaker aging effect than UV radiation, as expected. On the other hand, recycled plastics cannot be said to be easier to age than virgin materials. Particularly between the different measurements, the materials did not differ clearly in their aging.

Forests play a central role in climate change mitigation actions, and substitution, that is the use of wood products in place of fossil intensive materials, has been recognized as a potential way to avoid emissions. While there are studies estimating the substitution impact of products, i.e., the avoided emissions, there is a lack of studies integrating market perspectives into substitution estimation. To contribute to this research gap, this study explores the market assumptions of substitution through the theoretical lenses of value chains and microeconomic theory on demand. The objectives are to recognize powerful decision-makers in the value chains, to establish a better understanding for the current state of substitution in the markets, and to explore the determinants of demand of the wood-based products. To limit the scope of this study, the use of pulp-based products was examined in the cases of packaging and textile sectors. Semi-structured interviews with 14 experts were arranged to discuss their views on substitution and demand of the pulp-based products in the chosen sectors. Additionally, a Likert scale was filled at the end of each interview to supplement the interview answers and enable elasticity and cross-price elasticity analyses to examine substitution. The sample of respondents was chosen through the use of snowball sampling and a matrix to recognize potential interviewees. First, the findings of this study suggest that in both sectors, the decision-making power on materials is held by the operators at the end of the value chain whereas the forest sector is located at the beginning of the chain. Second, in both sectors, there is willingness to find more sustainable material solutions, but the tools for this are lacking. In the case of packaging sector, the barrier capacities of plastic are unattainable with fiber-based materials, meaning that reducing plastic use does not always imply switching the feedstock itself. In the textile sector, the production of wood-based textile fibers is not yet scaled enough for it to compete with similar materials. However, the analysis of elasticities indicates that some substitution can be expected in both sectors. Third, a number of important determinants of demand were identified, yet no single factor could be identified as the most important one. This study concluded that there is room to improve the market assumptions for substitution impact estimation. In packages, the market preferences of fiber-based packaging in some uses give a rise for interpretational issues, while plastic reduction goals do not always imply switching to wood feedstock. In textiles, the new man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs) are expected to mostly substitute for viscose and fill the cellulosic gap from stagnating production of cotton instead of substituting for synthetic fibers. To conclude, it is central to integrate market data and concepts better into future substitution impact analyses to facilitate more realistic estimates.

Fresh cut vegetables are fresh vegetables which are processed by peeling, washing, cutting, packaging and storing. All these steps are influencing the quality and shelf life of the fresh cut produce. The fresh cut vegetables and the raw chicken meat have different packaging requirements. The fresh cut vegetables are normally packed into permeable packaging with low oxygen concentration, whereas the chicken meat is commonly packed into tight oxygen-free packaging. The literature review focused on the factors which influencing the quality and shelf life of the fresh cut vegetables. The literature review also focused on the food and packaging technological tools for maintaining the quality of the ready-to-cook fresh cut vegetable and raw meat products. In the first part of the experiment study, the effect of the high barrier and the micro perforated film on the quality of fresh cut root vegetables (sweet potato, swede, parsnip and carrot) were studied. In the second part of the experimental study, the effect of the micro perforated film, tray comparting and a lingonberry juice treatment of chicken meat on the quality of the ready-to-cook fresh cut root vegetable and raw chicken meat product was studied. In a 13-day storage period, the changes in colour, firmness and gas concentration in a packaging, weight loss, sensory acceptance and microbial quality was investigated. The gas transmission rate was higher with the micro perforated film. The overall sensory acceptability of the root vegetable cubes packed with micro perforated film was under the appointed limit in 13-day storage. Nevertheless, no difference in the quality of fresh cut root vegetables packed with the high barrier or the micro perforated film was detected. The concentrations of the yeast and moulds were over the guideline value (1000 cfu/g) in both the fresh cut root vegetables packed with the high barrier and the micro perforated film and ready-to-cook fresh cut vegetable and chicken meat product in a four-day storage time. The overall acceptance of the ready-to-cook fresh cut root vegetable and raw chicken meat product maintained in 13-day storage time. The total aerobic bacteria content of the lingonberry treated chicken and fresh cut root vegetable cubes were over the guideline value 1·108 cfu/g in the 13-day storage time. The comparting of the tray didn’t have an effect on the quality of the lingonberry treated chicken meat and fresh cut root vegetable cubes. The study showed the quality of the used raw material is important to maintain the quality of the fresh cut produce. The modified atmosphere created by fresh cut root vegetables seems to be enough to maintain the microbial and sensory quality of raw chicken meat and fresh cut root vegetable cubes.

Adhesion of the food into the packaging has an important role in various stages of the supply chain of food production to recycling. If the food sticks to the surface of the package and the package does not get completely empty, there will be ethical and ecological problems due to the use of resources such as water, raw materials and energy which are wasted in considerable quantities. If the packaging does not empty properly, but leaves residues, the image of product’s quality in the eyes of the consumer will be reduced. The aim of this study was to develop packaging materials that reduce food losses by improving the release of the food from its packaging. The research topics were the emptying properties of the packaging materials and the adhesion of the oily foods to their surfaces. The work was carried out by testing the coated paperboards and trays adhesion properties. As model products, commercial marinade and rapeseed oil were used, and their viscosities were determined. The method used were 80° tilt test, stickiness test, contact angle measurement and chemical extraction combined with gas chromatography. Based on the results of the study, the amount of residue from an oily food at the surface of the packaging can be influenced by appropriate combination of mechanical and chemical treatments. Using a PE coating which is glossy and non-patterned with a chemical treatment is the best for ensuring removal of oily foods removed from the packaging. Food waste can be reduced by choosing the proper packaging type for each foodstuff based on its attributes.