Dow Inc. is bringing sustainability to the pet food market and working on other sustainable projects around the world.
Midland, Mich.-based Dow recently developed a recyclable pet food bag made from the firm's polyethylene resins. Dow worked with machinery firms Windmöller & Höschler Group and B&B Anlagenbau GmbH on the project.
"Sustainable options aren't just nice to have, most firms know they need to have it," Romain Cazenave, Dow Europe, Middle East and Africa packaging marketing director, said in an interview at the recent K 2022 trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany. "We're seeing the industry move so fast on sustainability."
The new large pet food pouches deliver the same performance and properties of multi-material packages combined with outstanding gloss and transparency, officials said.
Dow also is working on recyclable packaging options — including transparent or opaque laminated pouches — for coffee, nuts, pasta, cereal bars and other food items, Cazenave said. "Sustainability is going to be how flexible packaging wins market share," he added.
Packaging made with Dow's PE resins and specialty elastomers can offer better optics and stiffness than competing materials, officials said. Cazenave added that some grades can have up to 70 percent recycled content.