Australian packaging firm Amcor has developed a new polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle for Nature’s Promise hand soap brand.

The new 12oz bottle, which contains 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, has been developed in partnership with US-based co-packer Greenblendz using Amcor-built machine powered by the LiquiForm process.

The LiquiForm technology is capable of improving packaging consistency and reduce the carbon footprint associated with filling and packaging, Amcor said.

Designed as a drop-in replacement for the current Nature’s Promise container, the new packaging features the existing closure and label.

Greenblendz founder and COO Steve Berry said: “We’re excited to be a partner in the commercial validation of such a highly sustainable manufacturing process.

“LiquiForm technology delivers enormous efficiencies throughout the supply chain and improves the industry’s carbon footprint.”

The LiquiForm technology makes use of the packaged product instead of compressed air to hydraulically form and fill the container on one machine simultaneously.

The process helps in producing rigid plastic containers for different products, by combining the forming and filling processes into one step, thus eliminating the costs associated with the equipment and energy of the traditional blow molding process, Amcor said.

Amcor Rigid Plastics Diversified Products Division vice-president and general manager Ann O’Hara said that the LiquiForm technology has the potential to revolutionize the filling and packaging industries with a more flexible, efficient, and sustainable supply chain.

“The development and launch of the first commercial manufacturing machine and the introduction of the first commercial product represents two major milestones for the LiquiForm technology.”

Amcor said that the forming of bottles using LiquiForm process opens new ways toward lighter, more sustainable packaging as well as potential to reconfigure supply chains.

The company added that lighter weight containers, achieved via enhanced consistency in wall thickness, combined with a reduction in the transport of empty containers, lowers environmental emissions and the carbon footprint.

Image: Amcor partnered with Greenblendz to develop and commercialize packaging for the Nature’s Promise brand of hand soap. Photo: courtesy of Amcor.