Prodigi develops new sustainable packaging in “global first”

Global print-on-demand company Prodigi has announced the official launch of Ecocaps, a biodegradable alternative to plastic end caps for cardboard tubes.

Developed in-house at Prodigi’s fulfilment centre in the UK, the tube end is made using a unique blend of recycled paper products.

The Ecocaps product is designed to address a gap in the market for sustainable packaging solutions, and is fully compostable, biodegradable, and recyclable.

By negating the need for traditional plastic end caps in rolled print or poster tubes, it saves two pieces of plastic per tube, roughly equivalent to 10g of plastic.

A phased roll-out for packaging on Prodigi rolled prints and posters, which are shipped from the UK, began in February this year with deployment in the US scheduled for November.

It has been estimated that the transition has already eliminated more than two million pieces of plastic from the company's supply chain to date.

The move comes as part of Prodigi's general move away from plastic packaging following the removal of clingwrap from its packaging materials in 2022.

Steve Levin, co-founder and chief production officer at Prodigi, states: “Ecocaps isn’t just a first in the print on demand space, but also across the wider packaging industry. Until now, this product simply didn’t exist.

“Swapping the plastic end caps on our shipping tubes for Ecocaps has already eliminated over two million pieces of plastic from our operations, and we're just one business. If more companies follow suit, the combined impact would be transformative.”

According to the company, there has already been significant demand for this product. Prodigi have subsequently announced that the Ecocaps product is available for resale to businesses and suppliers.

Interested parties have been encouraged to get in touch with Prodigi for more information, or find more information on the company’s website.

Speaking of Prodigi’s focus on sustainability, founder and chief executive officer of the company, James Old says: “This in-house development underscores our commitment to lead by example when it comes to innovation and sustainability.

“In addition to supplying this product to the wider packaging industry, we’re also working on an initiative to encourage other print-on-demand providers, including our competitors, to adopt our Ecocaps.

“Protecting the planet requires all of us to pursue innovative, creative solutions to continuously reduce our environmental footprint. Together, we can collectively make a substantial contribution to minimising global plastic consumption.”

The announcement comes as part of a general move in the print, signage, and packaging industries towards sustainability, reducing environmental impact, and cutting down on non-recyclable waste.

Fujifilm recently opened a manufacturing centre to recycle toner cartridges at its European headquarters in the Netherlands. FUJIFILM Business Innovation plans to expand these remanufacturing processes to other products in the future, including remanufacturing spare parts for production printers.

Sappi Europe announced in August that it had reduced the carbon footprint of its Galerie range by 55%, by successfully transitioning to renewable biomass energy. This figure is expected to increase to 70% by the end of 2024.

In April, Prodigi announced the acquisition of Peecho, an Amsterdam-based innovator in cloud printing solutions. The purchase was made, according to the company, in order to “expand its global footprint and diversify its product offerings.” As part of the acquisition, previous chief executive officer of Peecho, Eric Kickert, joined Prodigi's board as chief operations officer.