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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.”