SIG pips rivals to produce first one-litre aseptic FSC carton

The first run of the new cartons, which are marked with the FSC logo on the corner of the packaging, have gone on sale in all German branches of supermarket Lidl.

Its launch means that the company has pipped Tetra Pak to bring a one-litre FSC-certified aseptic carton to market.

Tetra Pak was, however, the first carton manufacturer to launch an FSC-certified aseptic carton when, in May this year, it launched its 180ml children’s smoothie wedge for UK brand Innocent. The company said at the time that it was working to get one-litre cartons FSC accredited.

The new cartons will be available to clients in other European markets, including the UK and Italy, in “the near future”.

A spokesperson for the company told Packaging News that with its first European customers it would be producing “an annual volume of more than 200m FSC-labelled carton packs”.

Combibloc was also the first manufacturer of aseptic cartons to have all its production plants in Europe certified according to the FSC’s criteria for complete chain of custody verification.

As of 7 June, the group’s European production sites became certified in accordance with FSC criteria. On the basis of the SFS Chain of Custody code, the firm is permitted to brand its FSC-accredited aseptic cartons “FSC Mixed Sources”.

FSC-certified board is more expensive than that used in conventional cartons, but the production process is not more costly. Combibloc said its objective was to “offset these additional costs with our customers”.

The FSC label certifies that the wood fibres used to manufacture packaging can be traced back to sources approved by the Forest Stewardship Council – an international independent and not-for-profit organisation promoting wood and wood products sourced from socially and environmentally sound sources.

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