Category: Stories

What attempts and ways of creation approximate the harmony of nature and technology?

The upcycling exhibition ‘MIST?!’ is currently on display at the Graz children’s museum FRida & freD. Together with our designer Bettina Reichl, the children transformed leftovers from our net tube production into colourful, ‘compostable’ clothes on 17 July 2024 as part of the ‘Garbage becomes fashion’ workshop.

The white foamed plastic nets have competition. Exquisite fruits such as mangoes or papayas can now also be individually wrapped in wood fibre and be well protected for transport. And there is also a lot more that can be sturdily packed in it. Bottles, for example.

In order to optimise our efforts and resources, we have merged our trading company, VPZ Verpackungszentrum GmbH, as the transferring company, with its sister company, Packnatur Entwicklungs- und Produktions GmbH. As of 1 July 2024, we are called Packnatur GmbH and are concentrating entirely on our Packnatur^® Cellulose Tube Netting.

The full expansion of the Neudau plant for the production of wood-based net packaging was achieved with the commissioning of the fourth production hall in January 2024. Packnatur^® Cellulose Tube Netting is a compostable alternative to plastic that can be used 1:1 on existing packaging machines.

Interview by Sabine Dreher with our designer Bettina Reichl on the occasion of Vienna Design Week 2023

Our machine park at the Packnatur^® factory in Neudau is growing and has been expanded to include our latest test machines. Product diversifications are being developed there that will enable even more customers from a wide range of business fields to package their products ecologically in cellulose netting.

Natura Alimentos is our new partner in Mexico and distributes fresh produce to the three biggest supermarket chains in Mexico and to one in the United States.

Millions of tons of plastic wind up in the sea each year and cannot be recycled in the usual way. Enormous rubbish patches have appeared in the oceans all over the world. “Out of Garbage” focuses on utilising ocean plastic for fanciful fashion purposes, thereby bringing a subject to the catwalk that makes us conscious of the fact that every individual can contribute with his or her lifestyle, habits and attitudes to combat the insanity of our throw-away culture. Out of plastic and back to nature.

Exactly 10 years ago the first Packnatur^® net packaging made by VPZ VERPACKUNGSZENTRUM from LENZING™ Modal Color beechwood fibres for potatoes, onions, beetroot and black radish for the Ja! Natürlich brand of the REWE Group in Austria entered their stores. Customers for organic produce were enthusiastic and REWE Group generated several hundred likes on social media within a few hours of the market launch. A successful model for green packaging was born.

Over the course of last year Spain became one of our main export countries. One of the reasons for this is the fact that Spain wants to take up a leading role in reducing plastic packaging in general. Our Spanish partner for our Packnatur^® Cellulose Tube Netting, TECNY MEDIA TRADING S.L. in Murcia, reports on the current situation.

Have you ever heard of a seaweed bath bag? Our customer Atlantic Irish Seaweed is another example for the versatility of our Packnatur^® Cellulose Tube Netting. Seaweed baths are said to have multiple benefits for skin and general well-being. Thanks to our netting the bag can be disposed of as a whole after the bath in your home compost. Additionally, seaweed makes also an excellent fertilizer. A sustainable product with the perfect life cycle!

Ocean Farm Supply in Brunswick / US is the exclusive distributor of the Ocean Harvest Bag™ specifically designed for the harvest and distribution of shellfish, eliminating the need for single-use plastic mesh bags. The concept for Ocean Harvest Bags™ was created and realized in cooperation with VPZ Packnatur^®. A particularly tear-resistant net had to be developed for the hard and sharp-edged shellfish.

This little Central American country has been a role model for ecological energy sourcing and eco-tourism. With the help of Tierra Tica, our local distribution partner, it is further developing the transition to sustainable packaging and a circular economy. Pablo Carter managed to bring our Packnatur^® cellulose net tubes to Costa Rica.

Since 2020 Hellagro is distribution partner of VPZ´s Packnatur^® Netting for Greece and Cyprus. We asked Nassos Valakas, Strategic Sourcing and Supply Chain Manager of Hellagro, about his first experiences with our biodegradable net products in the market.

Jac. Vandenberg, Inc. introduces VPZ´s wood-based netting to the USA.

The majority of fruits, citrus fruit and vegetables sold in European supermarket chains is grown and packed in Spain. Thanks to Tecny Media more of these will be packed in PACKNATUR^® cellulose tube netting from VPZ Verpackungszentrum in the future.

Wholegood stands for entrepreneurial success offering selected quality in the organic fruits and vegetables sector. Most products are obtained from small independent growers in the UK and the EU.

Bourassa Alimentation LTÉE has been supplying the region of Quebec with fresh products, fruit and vegetables for over 60 years. CEO Marc Bourassa started in January 2020 to pack his fruit and vegetables in our PACKNATUR^® net tubes. Customers had been urging him more and more to stop using plastic for this purpose.

Organic farmers and nationwide veg box deliverers, Riverford, have ditched plastic nets used to pack onions, citrus fruits and sprouts in favour of a compostable alternative made from beech tree pulp…

Because of our new sales partner Jenkins Freshpac Systems New Zealand our Packnatur^® Cellulose Net Tubes made of LENZING™ Modal beechwood cellulose are now also available in supermarkets on the other side of the planet – in New Zealand.

We always think nature is great. That’s why we are constantly developing innovative products with its support. Just like our Packnatur^® Pick Pack reusable pouches in different versions, from fully woven to a transparent mesh look or our Packnatur^® Pop-up bags in various designs.

The artist Barbara Lindmayr paints pictures into rooms with our Packnatur^® fruit and vegetable nets.

Since May the Swiss retailer Coop is offering a reusable snack bag made from wood. After the introduction of the “Multibag” in 2017 for buying loose fruit and vegetables, which is still very popular, Coop is expanding its repertoire of beechwood-based reusable bags from VPZ Verpackungszentrum to include a pretty, reusable snack bag.

In her current independent projects “Hier könnte ein Baum stehen” (“There could be a tree here”) and “Gina liebt” (“Gina loves”) Nicole Pruckermayr uses our beechwood-based Packnatur^® Cellulose Tube Netting to create compostable structures and connect people.

Good news for all the home chefs out there! Marley Spoon is partnering up with Packnatur to supply their customers in Dutch and German-speaking countries with a sustainable option to keep their fresh ingredients from their mealkits in order. The Packnatur^® Pick Pack net bag made from food-safe and FSC^® certified LENZING™ Modal Color fiber is going to be included in some Marley Spoon meal kits customers will receive this year.

The manufactury „Heuwiesl“ in Seewalchen am Attersee at the foothills of the Alps packs their bundles of hay and straw in our Packnatur^® Cellulose Tube Netting. And that’s simply a feast for the eyes.

“You don’t need to become an eco-warrior overnight.Take it one product at a time, and work your way up,” says Deb Singer, the leader of the plastic bag ban at Whole Foods and co-founder of BRINGiT reusable shopping bags. “Starting with one thing makes it more palatable to make other changes.”

Over the past three years, he has made a significant contribution to the success of VPZ…

Fruit and vegetables are in for a new look! The reusable PACKNATUR^® cellulose bag made from Lenzing Modal^® is the latest 100% wood fashion …

During tours of Vietnam in 1993, 1995 and 1999, Bettina Reichl observed how skilfully the Vietnamese use natural raw materials to package everyday products.

This beautiful island is committed to sustainability for its commercial future, across all sectors of the economy – including tourism, textile manufacturing and many others.

Plastic has dominated the packaging market for the past 60 years. A garbage patch the size of central Europe – floating in the Pacific – was discovered for the first time in 1997.

A plastic-free future: This is the common goal of our customer BILLA and Josefstadt, the 8th district of Vienna.

For a number of years, I have been playing around with the idea of creating my own interdisciplinary initiative, think tank or organisation focused on sustainability, art and culture…

VPZ Verpackungszentrum GmbH opens new factory in Neudau, Styria (Austria), to produce its beechwood based PACKNATUR^® tube nettings, which does not only create new jobs but also opens new perspectives in the textile industry.