The Royal Umbrella’s environmental-friendly rice bags, to be launched in 2021, are expected to meet the consumers' demand for sustainable packaging
Officials from Dow Thailand, Royal Umbrella and Prepack. (Credit: PRNewsfoto /Dow)
Dow has partnered with Royal Umbrella, a Thai flexible packaging producer under SCG Packaging (SCGP), to develop environmental-friendly rice bags to meet their sustainability needs.
The move forms part of Royal Umbrella’s plan to reduce CO2 emissions by reducing energy used in the production process while optimising plastic resin used in rice bags.
The collaboration allows Royal Umbrella to utilise Dow’s sustainable packaging solution Innate and down-gauging technology for the multi-layer, mono-material polyethylene rice bags.
Planned to be launched in 2021, the new rice bags are expected to meet the consumers’ demand for sustainable packaging.
Dow said that the packaging that makes use of Innate precision packaging resins have reduced thickness and will be stronger.
Dow Thailand president Chatchai Luanpolcharoenchai said: “In the initial phase, it is anticipated that 300 metric tons of plastics will be reduced which is equivalent to eliminating 600 metric tons of carbon or planting more than 237 acres of trees.”
By 2025, Royal Umbrella has committed to completely stop using non-recyclable packaging.
Royal Umbrella chief operating officer Thiti Lujitanon said: “Our rice bags were previously not recyclable, now Royal Umbrella’s plastic rice bags can be recycled.
“We are not stopping here. We will take the recyclable bag to the next level and make our rice bag thinner and stronger while reducing carbon dioxide emission by using less plastic and lowering the temperatures in the bag’s sealing process.
“This is aligned with our sustainable goals to address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) by eliminating problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign and reinvention, changing single-use plastic packaging to reusable one, and ensuring 100% of our plastic packaging can be reused or recycled.”
Royal Umbrella allows consumers to drop off the used rice bags at the nearest recycling bins. Customers can also donate the bags at more than 350 “Mue Wised x Won” plastic bag drop points by PPP Plastics in major Thai department stores.
Last month, Dow and laundry brand Liby launched first fully recyclable laundry packaging in China.