Luxury packaging follows fashion industry trend toward FSC certified paper
The US luxury packaging company PAK 2000 has pledged to release a new paper policy that will give preference to FSC certified and recycled products. The move follows a growing trend embraced by glamorous fashion companies including the Gucci Group, Tiffany’s & Co., Hugo Boss, Ferragamo and the H&M Group.
On 2 December, PAK 2000 – a leading supplier of paper bags and packaging products to fashion brands such as Versace, Prada, Valentino and J.Crew – announced it will develop and implement a “leadership” paper policy in the first quarter of 2010. In addition to a strong preference for FSC and recycled products, PAK 2000 has pledged to phase out all fiber from controversial sources and High Conservation Value Forests from its paper products within 180 days.
The initiative comes soon after the well-known conglomerate of fashion and luxury brands Gucci announced its new paper policy. On 3 November 2009, Gucci announced its intent to source only FSC certified or recycled products by December 2010 for all paper categories used by the Group – from copy paper to shopping bags – alongside reducing the amount of paper it uses and eliminating fiber from High Conservation Value and controversial sources.
Gucci is the latest of a group of fashion companies along with PAK 2000 to work with the US based NGO and FSC member Rainforest Action Network (RAN) to ensure their packaging, paper use and environmental footprint are environmentally and socially responsible. Tiffany & Co. was the first fashion brand to switch all the paper it uses to FSC certified paper, including its iconic blue shopping bags.
Through its “Don’t Bag Indonesia’s Rainforests” campaign, RAN has been urging the fashion industry to examine their supply chains. As well as encouraging buyers to source FSC and recycled products, RAN is working with companies to sever links with controversial paper suppliers such as Asian Pulp and Paper (APP) – a company that FSC dissociated from in November 2007.
For more information, please visit the RAN website.
Source: Rainforest Action Network press releases 2/12/09 and 3/11/09
