News

What a welcome surprise it was to find things are going to get a lot easier to follow in terms of on-pack recyclability information ('Logo aims to end confusion', Packaging News, April 2009).

As manufacturers of Fix-a-Form multi-page labels, we are constantly asked by brand owners how to add complex information and make promotions work within current packaging regulations. Our solution is to contain huge amounts of detail within easy-to-reveal, sealed pages to keep things tidy.

Since the demand for adding recycling messages to packs has gathered momentum, the work of design teams has become more complicated. Firms that have so far committed to the label concept should be applauded for their fast response, and to others we can only offer useful tips on how to use products such as multi-page labels to incorporate other information threatening to clutter packs as the race for space takes on a whole new meaning.

In many cases, packaging should be striking and minimalistic in order to sell the ‘hero’ product within. And it is for this reason ingredients, usage instructions, promotions and other information might be better off ‘seen, but not in full’. Multi-page labels are sustaining their place in the packaging sector because they keep the overall look of packaging simple and clean.

I am delighted to see the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has made this critical start to making recycling understandable. We all have to admit that the detail of the recyclability of packaging was getting just a little too difficult to follow.

Stephen Jarrold
Sales & marketing director
Fix-a-Form