“Getting the big boys on board”: A Plastic Planet joins forces with Control Union for global rollout of Plastic Free Trust Mark

16 Sep 2019 --- The first global standardized Plastic Free Trust Mark was launched last week at Plastic Innovations 2019. The product of a “formidable” partnership between A Plastic Plant and global sustainability certifying body Control Union, the mark builds on the established Plastic Free Trust Mark that has already been adopted by over 100 brands. By bringing full industry standardization to the scheme, A Plastic Planet hopes to see the mark rollout worldwide.

Co-Founder Frederikke Magnussen notes how the partnership gives an extra boost to the plastic-free mark.“This partnership will give thousands more customers complete confidence that the products they’re buying with the Trust Mark are truly plastic-free,” says Franco Costantini, Managing Director of Control Union UK. “Our engagement with this initiative demonstrates our commitment to support businesses operating sustainably. The Plastic Free initiative is an important addition which fits well within our portfolio of sustainability programs.”

All companies that already carry the mark can continue to do so for the time being, Costantini tells PackagingInsights. “The standard will be further developed and after the first year grace period, all companies that already carry the mark will have to be compliant with the new releases.” He highlights that the partnership expects to spur a “drastic increase” in the number of brands carrying the mark.

Speaking to PackagingInsights, A Plastic Planet Co-Founder Frederikke Magnussen notes how the partnership gives an extra boost to the plastic-free mark. “We’ve grown it organically the past few months, but with this partnership, we can reach more countries and more brands around the world. Now, we can get the big boys on board,” she says.

A Plastic Planet campaigns for a 100 percent discontinuation of plastics in food and beverage packaging and hit the headlines back in March 2018 when it launched the world’s first plastic-free aisle in Ekoplaza’s Amsterdam store. A Thornton’s Budgens store in Camden, London, became the first UK supermarket to host a dedicated Plastic Free Zone in November of the same year. Both Zones included a host of plastic-free products bearing the Plastic Free Trust Mark. The Plastic Free Trust Mark has already been adopted by over 100 brands.

The Plastic Free Trust Mark has already been adopted by over 100 brands, including teapigs, Percol and Fyffes. UK supermarket chain, Iceland, became the first retailer to adopt the mark on its product labels in May last year.

“Our Trust Mark cuts through the confusion of symbols and labels and tells you just one thing – this packaging is plastic-free and therefore guilt-free. Finally, shoppers can be part of the solution, not the problem,” says A Plastic Planet Co-Founder, Sian Sutherland.

“Some people do ask why plastic-free is so special, but this is all about giving people the choice to change. If you don’t give people an opportunity to see what else is possible, then no one can change. We are hoping that this will continue to grow – next year [at Packaging Innovations 2020] we plan to go twice as big,” Magnussen adds.

By Laxmi Haigh