 | Dean Bellefleur |
Location
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Role
ConsultantJob Title
PresidentCompany
D-IdeaProfile
Dean is the Founder and Creative Director of D-idea, a consulting
practice predicated on credentials secured during a highly successful
20-year international career with the leader in aseptic carton packaging.
He has taken a particular interest in the challenges of redesigning
packaging to meet both environmental and humanitarian needs namely
intuitive packaging. To this end he is a frequent guest speaker and
continues to provide innovative insight through his writings.
As a result of his international experience his network extends into
Europe, Asia and the Americas. Most recently he was a judge at the 2009
Sustainable Packaging Leadership Awards in Toronto.
Recent Blog Entries
Who's calling the shots in today's packaging industry?
Emphatically not the consumer! Initiate a conversation with your friends and casually inquire as to their thoughts on the clamshell / blister package. Be forewarned as you have just unleashed the dogs of war. There’s nothing but frustration and contempt for this package. Closures and intuitive opens are other incomprehensible hot spots to the consumer. If we have the technology to place a man on the moon why can’t we have packaging that’s functional? Invariably the packaging scope widens to include environmental and surplus packaging concerns and the battle rages on.
Posted February 16, 2009
Recent Discussions
A Case Study in Designing for Eco -Effectiveness
Just days ago Heinz unveiled an evolutionary packaging development catering to the fast food industry; a new “dip & squeeze” ketchup package.[inline:Heinz.jpg] Heinz concept of a new “dip & squeeze” condiment package is brilliant and long overdue in fact.
Posted February 8, 2010Redesign for Eco Effectiveness
November 2008 I made a presentation in Helsingborg Sweden titled "Packaging Muscle" and in that presentation I touched on Greenwashing. [inline:PakMuscle.jpg] Greenwash as we know is an expression used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.
Posted March 23, 2009
Comments
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DURAPRO
Hello Erik, Your inquiry is timely. Having had a career with Tetra Pak I understand the challenges of hot melt glue applications for high-speed forming and tray packing. DuraPro is a leading U.S. brand of high performance adhesives and coatings that I have recently been dealing with regarding sustainable glue. I should also add they have a global presence that is supported with a technical team and we know just how valuable that is today. Their management is extremely helpful and willing to push the envelope on development to deliver products that are first in class. I believe that you will find DuraPro is a company that will work with you to meet your expectations for a sustainable glue.
TOYO INK
During Graph Expo 2008 I met up with Toyo Ink global providers of eco-friendly vegetable oil-based, solvent-free, renewable resource-based inks. Their toll free number is 1.866.969.8696. Knowing what your application is Kristiane facilitated today's discussion with Toyo Ink specialists. Not only are their inks vegetable based some are soy based. So to answer your question, the inks used to print on plastics would be the TSP and TSG series inks. Toyo Ink can also print on aluminum. The team of specialists I spoke with are extremely customer focused so I would encourage you to open a dialogue with them directly.
One Small Step
Chandler, there is no ONE single sustainable material for packaging nor will there be only one. I can’t agree with you more on this point. Various agenda’s are hurtling the packaging industry towards solutions that are perceived as “the correct choice”. The financial opportunities that this current global crisis presents are fueling a development frenzy that surpasses Napoleon's ambition to create the can. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for change but this late in post World War Two development I would expect a collective response to address global post consumer waste. Successful projects are those that complete their due diligence before implementation begins. A mind set similar to Neil Armstrong’s historic statement, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” is the approach that will deliver universal solutions. The shot has been fired and the race is well underway. The challenge now is to see if we can impose some discipline to ensure that the win will translate into the legacy that humanity so much desires.
Stay Tuned
Well you posed your question to the correct site. Greenerpackage have been populating their database since Oct 2009 and expect to go live the first quarter of 2010. If you have not already noticed the discussion, Greener Package database now open for packaging supplier data entry, give it a perusal. Your question in my mind however, deserves a more thorough explanation than pointing you off to a website. Considerations have to be given to the product; if it’s for consumption then the processing method influences the package selection, as does the ambient product characteristics, the distribution chain, the quantity per package, resealability to mention but a few of the criteria. Branding factors into the equation as well; is it a premium product, generic or private label. All these considerations narrow down the package of choice. Greening of the package requires further tailoring to the application and recycling demographics. Lots of choices to be made that need to follow a well defined scope to secure a green product life cycle. During this initial reorientation period its imperative that we design to a grand scheme that not only builds but focuses on the long view. Lets create the legacy that will sustain the well being of humanity and our industry for generations to come.
Bottle Bank Arcade Machine
We've just been discussing incentives to recycle and once again Sweden hits the news with a bottle bank arcade machine that has recyclers queuing up to play. The fun factor should not be underestimated in motivating behavioral changes even if the topic is serious there is room for creative solutions.
Turn the Page on Plastics
What are we hearing today? Banks that had to be bailed out, an auto industry that is resisting radical innovations, post consumer waste that is upsetting our ecosystem and foodborne pathogens flourishing in our food supply. Is there a common factor here? What’s wrong with turning the page and starting over? Our problem with recycling plastics is yet another issue that is being solved on the fly. Rather than fire fighting it’s time to apply problem solving methodologies i.e. root cause eradication and deploy the corrective solutions. The better defined, appraised and validated the more compelling our redesigned “plastic” or derivative will be embraced in our global neighborhoods. Let`s spend the time and resources to think this one through.
Green Dot
Quane your suggestions are valid. Case in point; I lived in Sweden for a number of years and there the recycling culture took root in our family. When you explained your idea of coupons for returnable’s that’s exactly the way the system works in Sweden. When you return a PET or aluminum can to the grocery store there are compacting stations that resemble vending machines dedicated to the two materials located adjacent to the checkout counters. The children love it. Feed the clean PET beverage bottles into the slot, wait for the crushing sound to stop repeat until you have exhausted your supply then request a ticket which you then present to the cashier for cash. In effect the recycling premium is paid out once the bottle is returned. There are many best practices on recycling deployed in neighboring & distant countries that can be readily adopted or modified to suit. In North America we have a tendency to want to reinvent the wheel, which slows down the rate of adoption. Germany's “Green Dot” initiative levies taxes against manufactures that over package so once again you were on the mark with your suggestion. If you want to read more about this visit Germany has been very successful in its fight against growing garbage heaps As well there are bold new technologies being considered to assist in closing the loop on recycling. Coca-Cola has launched their new PlantBottle with limited distribution in order to focus on building recycle capacity quickly. NatureWorks has a recycling program for PLA . Krones offers bottle-2-bottle recycling systems that produce PET flakes used in the production of PET bottles. In my option there will be no single solution to post consumer waste but a number of application dependent solutions to select from.
REDEFINE WASTE
Good ideas have a way of being recycled Quane and therein lies the answer to your question. The root cause of our dilemma is that humanity is beginning to drown in it’s own post consumer waste, for a variety of reasons. Our generation has to redefine the definition of what is waste / garbage and thereby alter behaviors. Humanity can no longer afford the luxury of disposable consumer goods. The solution must include closed loop life cycles since we need to learn to work with what we have available as basic production materials. There are a number of packaging materials available, glass as you mentioned is one that has always signaled premium to the consumer. Just as there are barriers that can protect a product from denaturing elements as you mentioned. The inhibitor to deployment are profit margins. Very few organizations take the long view but rather seek obscene ROI’s (return on investments). Until the realization that our manufacturing base needs to change is accepted it’s going to be a tough battle to motivate industry to initially accept lower profit margins. The Body Shop jumps to mind as an early advocate of 2-way packaging. Scandinavia and Europe have been champions of recycling. The next step is to close the loop and learn to work with the abundance of post consumer waste at hand.
Window of Opportunity
Originally conceived as a can replacement, Tetra Recart makes a valuable contribution towards sustainable packaging -- talk about good timing or is it? To the consumer, Tetra Pak’s retort carton appears somewhat miraculously in answer to the mounting pressure for greener packaging. Actually the development of project phonix was a long and arduous journey that began around 1993 and was commercialized in 2004. The fact that the project survived a number of internal organizational changes stands as testament to the strong value proposition and belief in the concept. Not only was the research & development lengthy but securing a brand owner to launch Tetra Recart was equally frustrating. The preferred application was viscous food for human consumption, however pet food brand owners realized the differentiation factor of this carton as well; today you can find both applications in the market place. Like the Tetra Recart there are a number of innovations waiting for the window of opportunity to materialize. RFID (radio frequency identification) technology leaps to mind. The argument here is that the cost is the deterrent but no one is willing to bite the bullet and lead progress. Food traceability, now a serious issue due to the numerous product recalls, could be the impetuous required for the deployment of RFID tags. As with life, timing is everything and so it is for innovation. The sustainability crisis facing the packaging industry is in reality the biggest window of opportunity for our industry, let’s make use of it.
Application Dependent
There is no doubt that by understanding the setting/surroundings a product traverses a supply chain the higher probability the product will reach its destination unscathed. The correlation between rough handling and damages as I validated in the “Package Appearance” initiative can be translated, calculated and mitigated. I like to site the example of transporting eggs. Why is it we see so few if any breakages? The egg shell is fragile; the secondary packaging is not excessively robust therefore the handlers have learned to handle the produce with care. A learned behavior! I’ve seen product loaded on palettes skewered with slivers from wooden pallets, crushed product from over stacking, product compressed out of shape from too tight shrink wrap and the list goes on. “Out of sight out of mind” and here we have the root cause to our problems, the combat zone. That distance between manufacturer and retailer that should be a seamless process to the shelf wants for a realist budget. Unfortunately the cost of manufacturing also includes unique distribution costs which many marketeers overlook and then ballpark. There is a science to designing secondary packaging, vibration & compression tests to be conducted as well as moisture absorption rates. Not to mention optimized packing patterns to map. The squeeze between manufacturer and retailer today for lowest cost manifests itself as packaging maladies’. The secondary packaging design phase suffers for a lack of funds and the outcome we all know too well. Secondary packaging needs to be addressed upfront, provided with a budget and then monitored for effectiveness per product launch. Retailer and manufacturer then have to educate their product handlers on best practices tailored to meet the supply chain. Is how I read this.