Ahead of this year’s Sustainability Awards, we spoke to finalist Shellworks about its entry, the Vivomer home compostable tub made from microorganisms, nominated in the Commercialized Renewable Materials category.
You’re a finalist in the Sustainability Awards 2024. Congratulations! To start off, could you summarise your entry, in less than 50 words?
The tubby is a mono-material tub made from Vivomer, a biobased and home compostable material that is made by microorganisms. Vivomer Tubbies are suitable for food and personal care products, and are available in a range of 15ml, 30ml, 50ml, and 100ml sizes.
Why do you think the judges were impressed with your entry? Tell us about what is innovative about your project and/or about its impact on packaging sustainability.
Tubs and jars are very important to the personal care industry but, until now, it has been difficult for brands to find non-plastic alternatives because of the performance attributes required for this form factor; robustness, formulation compatibility, and a luxury user experience. Tubby is unique in its ability to provide the performance and convenience of plastic without the waste.
When Vivomer products reach the end of their useful life, the same microbes that made it exist in natural soil and marine environments can biodegrade the material back into the soil for a truly circular solution. Our team of scientists, engineers and sustainability professionals have developed Vivomer with lifecycle thinking in mind, to ensure that the tubby range performs to industry standards while reducing the environmental impact through sustainable decision making.
Finally, can you tell us about the ongoing development of your project, e.g. how your innovation/initiative has been received by the industry, or what the next steps are in commercialization/product development?
It’s been a great success! Shellworks has already produced over 500,000 Vivomer packaging units, and the demand for biobased and home compostable packaging keeps growing. Consumers increasingly want sustainable packaging solutions, and we are thrilled to be supporting brands in meeting this market opportunity with new innovative products.
The winners of the Sustainability Awards 2024 will be announced at the Sustainable Packaging Summit, taking place in Amsterdam on 12-13 November. The Summit mobilizes leaders of the FMCG value chain, policymakers, NGOs, recyclers and investors to collaborate, remove barriers and identify opportunities on the road to sustainable transformation.
To learn more or register, visit: https://www.packagingsummit.earth/2024
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