CupCycling, Helping to Create Meaningful Brand Connections
77% of brands could disappear and consumers wouldn’t notice, according to research carried out by Vivendi Brand Marketing and the Havas Group. This, they say, is down to the lack of meaningful brand connections between them and their consumers. Luxury brands such as Burberry are including CupCycling™ as part of their sustainability plans to help create those connections with consumers.
The research claims brands can make meaningful connections through communicating the functional, personal and collective benefits of a brand and its products to their consumers. Collective benefits include being transparent about ethical practices. Consumers, now more than ever, are interested in how a brand operates and the practical steps they are taking to help solve the world’s social and environmental problems.
Meaningful Brand Connections
One way James Cropper is helpingto create meaningful brand connections is through the development ofsustainable, plastic free, packaging. Through the work we are doing with ourCupCycling™ facility we are creating beautiful, speciality papers to be used ina variety of ways including packaging. In the latest New PlasticsEconomy Global Commitment report, released by the Ellen MacArthurFoundation, over 350 consumer goods companies and retailers have pledged toincrease recycled content in their packaging to an average of 25% by 2025,compared with the current global average of just 2%. James Cropper have pledgedto support the Global Commitment by;
- Supporting customers to eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through the supply of COLOURFORMTM plastic free packaging and other paper alternatives.
- Increasing our capacity for CupCyclingTM (upcycling of paper cups) by working together with retailers, waste management companies, and other stakeholders to increase the collection and supply of used cups to our facility. We will also continue to work with our customer base to generate demand for the resulting recycled fibres.
- Sending all plastic recovered during the CupCyclingTM process for recycling or re-use by 2025.
The CupCycling™ process is uniqueto James Cropper, our mill is the only papermaking mill in the UK to be usingthe fibres from recycled paper cups to produce custom, luxury papers. Thepapers have been used to create everything from notebook covers, luxurypackaging materials as well as moulded fibre packaging, COLOURFORM™.
Many luxury brands includingBurberry, who have also signed up to the Global Commitment, are already benefitingfrom what CupCycling™ can offer. Burberry have estimated they have alreadyupcycled 11million paper cups for the production of their fibre basedpackaging. As part of their commitment to the New Plastics Economy GlobalCommitment they are looking to eliminate all unnecessary plastic packaging by2025.
“We’re going to be doing that by driving demand for sustainable new materials, looking at things like well-being, the environment and sustainability in the manufacturing industry in our supply chain,”said Pam Batty, vice president of corporate responsibility at Burberry.
Estee Lauder Companies alsorecently announce that they are planning to increase the amount of post-consumerrecycled material in their product packaging by up to 50%. By 2025, 75-100% oftheir packaging will be recyclable, refillable, reusable, recycled orrecoverable.
The Vivendi/Havas research statesthat consumers are expecting brands to take action and make a stance on causes,those that fail to do so will be forgotten. Those brands that are quick toengage with causes such as the New Plastics Economy and early adopters ofprocesses such as CupCycling™, and that are transparent about the actions theyare taking will thrive when it comes to establishing those meaningfulconnections with their consumers.
If you’re interested in learningmore about the process, the work we are doing or how you can get involved withCupCycling™ get in touch with us directly.
