Mattress company moves to paper for roll-packed products

Photo from packworld.com

“As brands continue to move toward what they see as more sustainable packaging materials, collaboration between CPGs and their equipment suppliers has become an important element in achieving success. One recent example is a partnership between organic mattress company Naturepedic and its roll-packing machinery supplier, C3 Ingenuity, that enabled the company to switch from polyethylene to paper, eliminating 55,000 lb of plastic per year from its roll-packed products.

Based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Naturepedic produces certified organic mattresses and bedding, which it sells at its 20-plus retail stores located across North America. Its products can also be found at more than 150 retailers nationwide, including Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Restoration Hardware, and can be purchased on its website and shipped direct-to-consumer. For all these channels, Naturepedic ships its mattresses, comfort layers, and mattress toppers rolled up and packaged in (until recently) a heavy-gauge PE wrap and placed in a corrugated shipper.

Shares company Vice President of Sales and Marketing Arin Schultz, as a certified organic company committed to supporting an organic, holistic, lifestyle, Naturepedic is always looking for ways to improve its environmental impact. ‘We especially have an obligation to the planet and to our consumers—and not to be too aspirational—to the world in general to do our part,’ he says.

To deliver on these goals, around two years ago, Naturepedic began exploring alternatives to PE for its roll-packed products. According to Schultz, one option it looked at was biodegradable, compostable films. ‘It sounds good on paper, but none of them actually breaks down that fast, given the amount of film we end up using,’ he says. ‘So it just made more sense for us, again, an organic company, to shift to kraft paper. It’s recyclable, it’s compostable. It’s literally as natural as we can get in terms of packaging.’”

Quote from www.packworld.com