About

Principles

Materials

Media

Glossary

1% for the Planet is a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions through annual memberships and everyday actions. Your donation is 1% of annual sales or salary.

1% for the Planet

Asthma Allergy Nordic is a collaboration between the asthma and allergy organisations in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The label is making it easier for customers to find gentle products selected with care.

Asthma Allergy Nordic

The letters ‘CE’ appear on many products traded on the extended Single Market in the European Economic Area (EEA). They signify that products sold in the EEA have been assessed to meet high safety, health, and environmental protection requirements.

Computer Numerical Control Machining — a two-axis machine that uses rotational cutting tools or specialty knives to cut sheets of material. CNC machines can be calibrated or custom built to suit a variety of materials, from paper sheets to marble slabs.

CNC Machining

A new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.

Certified B Corporation

A process in papermaking that yields rougher, more textured sheets. The cold-press process shapes pulp into sheets without heat, allowing its fibres to bind together while better maintaining their individual shape and volume. Cold-pressed paper generally has better texture.

Cold-pressed paper

Lines that are pressed into a material, without cutting it. This compression creates a a weak spot that is prone to bending, making the material easier to fold in precise ways.

Crease

A recessed detail in the surface of card or paper. 

Debossing

A manufacturing process that uses a form (called a die) to stamp out shapes from sheet materials (paper, cardboard, thin metal or plastics). Most cardboard boxes are manufactured with some kind of die cutting process. A light-weight, manual example of this would be a standard office hole punch.

Die cutting

The EU Ecolabel is a label of environmental excellence that is awarded to products and services meeting high environmental standards throughout their life-cycle: from raw material extraction to production, distribution and disposal. 

Ecolabel

A raised detail in the surface of card or paper. Trick to remember — E for elevated.

Embossing

E-mark can be found on some prepacked products (food, drinks, cosmetics, cleaning) in Europe. Its use indicates that the prepackage has complied with the relevant European laws.

Estimated sign

provides information about the origin of the materials used to make the finished and labeled product.

A label indicating that all the materials used in the products are sourced from forests that have been audited by an independent third party to confirm they are managed according to FSC’s rigorous social and environmental standards. 

FSC 100%

A label indicating that the products are made using a mixture of materials from FSC-certified forests, recycled materials, and/or FSC controlled wood. 

FSC MIX

A label indicating that the products have been verified as being made from 100% recycled content (either post-consumer or pre-consumer reclaimed materials). 

FSC Recycled

Fairtrade changes the way trade works through better prices, decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries.

Fairtrade

The international symbol indicating that the material used in the product is considered safe for food contact. It’s visualized as a wine glass and a fork.

Food Safe

Green Dot is a non-profit company that provides financing for recycling of products around the world. The symbol doesn’t mean that a product itself is recyclable, but that the company who produced the product has have paid a recycling fee to Green Dot.

Green Dot

Manufacturing that relies on manual labour to assemble products or packaging. This is much more common than people usually assume.

Hand assembly

A process in paper making that yields highly smooth sheets. The hot-press process has a similar effect to household irons, and forces pulp fibres to uniformly bind into sheet form.

Hot-pressed paper

A set of international standards issued by ISO(International Organization for Standardization) that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service.

ISO Certifications

Laser cutting

The packaging is produced close to the market it’s sold in. Contributes to less transportation and more local jobs. Bonus if the product is also produced locally.

Local production

The process of combining two or more flat materials into one. Generally this is done by applying an adhesive to one material, and gradually pressing the other onto it until they are bonded. An example is laminating paper and PP film. 

Material lamination

The official ecolabel of the Nordic countries.

Nordic Swan Ecolabel

An organization that works throughout the entire forest supply chain to promote good practice in the forest and to ensure that forest-based products are produced with respect for the highest ecological, social and ethical standards.

PEFC

A series of small holes stamped into a material that aid in tearing. Patterns can vary.

Perforation

The packaging is produced with reduced amount of water. Packaging made from paper and cardboard are often water intensive.

Reduction of water

The packaging is produced with renewable energy from sources like water, wind or sun. Reduces the demand for fossil fuel.

Renewable energy

The Norwegian symbols that explain where and how packaging should be sorted.

Source Sorting Symbols

A pulp moulding process that is the most modern, achieving smooth surfaces and precise details, idea when details really matter.

Thermoformed pulp

A pulp moulding process that is lower in cost and produces pulp forms with larger wall thicknesses (2-10mm), great for padding.

Thick-wall pulp moulding

The tidyman symbol is present on many packaged items and is a reminder to the customer to dispose of the packaging in an appropriate manner. This does not mean that the item is recyclable.

Tidyman

a middle tier process that produces thinner walled forms with better precision, like coffee cup carriers.

Transfer moulded pulp

The Universal Recycling Symbol is an internationally recognized symbol used to designate recyclable materials. The recycling symbol is in the public domain and is not a trademark.

Universal Recycling Symbol

PVA glue

Glue

Colored glass

Clear glass

Magnets

Titanium

Copper

Iron

Steel

Aluminum alloys

Aluminium

Mirum

Texan Vogue

Forager

Reishi leather

Forest wool

Tyvek

Dyneema (DCF) / Cuben fiber

X-Pac

Bananatex

Flax composite-Flaxco

Woolcool

Woola

Tencel Lyocell

Repreve

Leather

Wool 

Hemp

Bamboo fabrics

Viscose rayon

Recycled cotton

Cotton

Recycled polyester (rPET)

Polyester (PET)

Ripstop nylon

Nylon 

Scoby

Natural rubber

Japanese knotweed

Plant leaves 

Mycelium foam

Mycelium

Cornstarch foam 

Seaweed 

Carbon black

Plastic additives

Thermoset plastics

PMMA

PU foam

EVOH

Cellophane 

OPP and BOPP film

PP foil

HDPE

CPET

RPET

Senate Xanita

PET trays

FormPack Paper Bubble Wrap

Kraft-Tex

Flexi-hex

Paper foam

Newspaper wood

Elephant dung paper

Kraftplex

Recoma

Fibrease and Papira

Vela paper

Paptic

Paperwise

Cold seal

Thick-wall moulded pulp

Beeswaxed paper

Vellum paper

Cotton paper

Bamboo paper

Honeycomb board

Flute

Single sided corrugated cardboard

Cardboard

Liquid carton board

Paperboard

Biocomposite 

Paper

Biodegradable plastics

Bio based plastics

AirMycelium

Article explaining how circular economy can reduce emissions

Completing the Picture

Informative field report on sources of ocean plastic pollution on norway

Deep dive into our Plastic Ocean

Independent report on establishing a zero-waste circular plastic economy in norway

Achieving Circularity

The European plastic industry’s take on the path to circular, climate neutral plastics system in Europe.

Reshaping Plastics

A list to guide your project towards packaging that does less harm. Compiled with input from leading voices in material science, circular policy, recycling and product development.

Our vision for a more sustainable consumer goods industry is best achieved as a community, and we hope sharing our knowledge will help evaluate the status quo. That’s why this site will always be a work in progress, and we welcome your input and feedback

Suggest a principle↗

A tool to help you navigate the jungle of materials, from industry standard to next-gen regenerative.

Suggest a material

Use this dictionary to become comfortable with using the language of packaging.

Content to make informed decisions, curated to be worth your time.

Index is a resource for supporting future-proof circular packaging

Goods Index

Responsible, sustainable packaging design is transparent about methods, processes, and insights. Making the planet a little bit better is a collaborative and continuous effort. 

Sharing and transparency

Responsible packaging is completely necessary and fit for purpose. Single use is exchanged with reuse models where relevant

https://wrap.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/no-plastic-packaging-sell-fresh-uncut-produce-loose-says-wrap-report

A reason for existing

Responsible packaging design strives to create a downstream market for recycled materials. This is achieved thorugh using high value recycled mono-materials and design for circularity.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1583933814386&uri=COM:2020:98:FIN

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/rethinking-the-future-of-plastics

Close the circularity gap

Responsible packaging is beneficial and safe for people and planet to produce, use and recycle. It is harmless when it ends up astray (make sure that it won’t).

https://wwwkravse.cdn.triggerfish.cloud/uploads/sites/2/2020/06/pack_guide_jan2020.pdf

https://www.c2ccertified.org/resources/detail/cradle-to-cradle-certified-restricted-substances-list-rsl

https://www.circulardesignguide.com/post/material-selection

https://monographs.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mono100F.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002985

https://blog.csiro.au/deadly-ocean-plastic/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/news-plastic-six-pack-rings-alternatives-history

Health & Safety

Responsible packaging is designed to be effectively collected and recovered as useable resources in high demand, in the facilities closest to the area of sale and consumption.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35358534/

https://www.icis.com/explore/services/recycling-supply-tracker-mechanical/

https://www.grontpunkt.no/nyhet/problemet-med-biologisk-nedbrytbar-plast/

Index is a resource for supporting future-proof circular packaging

Principles

Materials

132. PVA glue

131. Glue

130. Colored glass

129. Clear glass

128. Magnets

127. Titanium

126. Copper

125. Iron

124. Tin

123. Steel

122. Aluminum alloys

121. Aluminium

Glossary

Media

Completing the Picture Ellen Mcarthur Foundation

Deep dive into our Plastic Ocean Mepex

Achieving Circularity Ellen Mcarthur Foundation

Reshaping Plastics Systemiq