KNOW

Mise grants patronage to UnionAlimentari’s campaign “the Italy, that is not there!”
After the National Anti-Counterfeiting Council, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development also granted its patronage to the initiative launched by UnionAlimentari to contrast the counterfeiting of Italian products and to stimulate controlling authorities to intervene where necessary.
The idea behind the information campaign is to collect reports from consumers about unfair and misleading communication practices adopted by foreign producers, who pass off food products as Italian that have nothing to do with Italy. Anyone traveling abroad can take one or more photos of the deceptive food product label and send them to falso@unionalimentari.com, providing more information about the place and the point of sale where the photo was taken.
It will then be the task of the association, after an initial legal analysis, to report the case to the authorities to solicit an intervention by the supervisory body.

EPS Circular Economy
“The future is today, magnifying glass on the EPS-AIRPOP”: this is the title of the conference that will see AIPE – the Italian Expanded Polystyrene Association committed on May 30 (14.30-17.00, Sala Scorpio, Congress Center, during PLAST International Exhibition for the Plastics Industry and Rubber Industry at Fiera Milano Rho).
On the table, one of the hottest topics for the plastics industry, namely environmental sustainability, which also involves the polystyrene foam supply chain, which has been active for years in the recovery and recycling of post-consumer material with a circular approach that enables the valorization of the characteristics of EPS throughout its lifecycle (and recycling).
During the conference – in collaboration with COREPLA and PlasticsEurope – two cases will be illustrated demonstrating how the principle of circular economy can be successfully applied in business activities.
packaging design

A useful tool for those interested, at various levels, in packaging design, paying particular attention to the structural, material and technological aspects of the same. The publication considers the past, present and future scenarios of a world in continuous and constant evolution and wishes to outline the possibilities of innovation and the contribution that designers can make towards the correct development of new packaging-products. These are observed and recounted from different points of view, from the characteristics of use to the service needs, from the necessities of the circular economy to those of the types of distribution, taking into consideration the various subjects that intervene throughout its lifecycle and with direct references to the “formal-structural” part of the packaging.

Discorsi cromatici
All objects are colored, but not all consciously so. All too often even in the design phase color is experienced as a purely aesthetic quality, a cosmetic addition that embellishes the product’s outer appearance, while leaving its deepest essence unchanged. The aim of the approach taken in this publication is to explore the qualities of color, coming to recognize its interesting communicative and empathic potentials. This objective goes hand-in-hand with an in-depth knowledge of the properties of color which, by its very nature, calls into question a multitude of disciplinary fields, each of which identifying the specific qualities that color has. Thus encouraging the contamination between those areas of knowledge and those disciplines that have always looked with interest to the theme of color, via the same we get to build a complex design tool, able to involve the recipient at different levels. The book presents a rich collection of objects, analyzed according to an interpretative model proposed by the author, which highlights the communication potentials deriving from color, building the conditions for an integrated and conscious design approach. In the last part of the volume the grammars that enable the writing of the chromatic narratives arising from a brand, a product, a communicative artifact are looked into, hence proposing a reading of the genesis and the articulation of the chromatic language that, to suit the particular case, places the various paradigmatic models of very color itself at the center.

Compendium of structures, pag.46-47
From “Le parole del packaging – Glossario ragionato per il sistema-imballaggio”, by Valeria Bucchetti and Erik Ciravegna, Edizioni Dativo, 2009.

Comieco Factory: Call for Inventions. 35,000 euros in prizes for the best sustainable inventions developed in the cellulosic packaging sector.
Presented on March 27th at the headquarters of Confindustria Toscana Nord in Lucca, the Call is open to all subjects, companies and professionals, who since 2014 have filed a patent in Italy for cellulose packaging that possesses characteristics of sustainability. Three prizes will be awarded for the best patents for inventions (20,000 euros), utility models patents (10,000 euros) and design and model registrations (5,000 euros) regarding packaging or solutions applicable to the same with measurable benefits in environmental terms.
The evaluation committee (comprising Comieco, Assocarta, Assografici and Aticelca) will examine all the inventions submitted by 30 September 2018 on the basis of multiple selection criteria (saving of raw material and use of recycled raw material in the production of the pack, simplification of the packaging and recycling system, optimisation of logistics or of the production processes in order to reduce waste and energy consumption).

* Comieco Factory is the innovation program of Comieco, organisation that has always been involved in activities of prevention, that intends encouraging and spreading among companies a culture of environmental sustainability and promoting all voluntary actions that companies implement for the development of environmentally sustainable paper and cardboard packaging.

Packaging: a successful 2017

According to the main macroeconomic indicators, the recovery of the Italian economy has strengthened and the packaging sector, closely linked to the performance of manufacturing, has been positively influenced by the phenomenon.
Source: Istituto Italiano Imballaggio

According to initial calculations, in 2017 turnover exceeded 32.4 billion euros (+ 2.3%). Foreign trade also shows an upswing: with data referring
to the first nine months of the year and still in terms of turnover, exports rose by 4% and imports by 6%, with a continued positive balance of trade, exceeding 2.1 billion euros. On average the price quotations of the raw materials used to produce packaging are on the up (with average prices are rising for all materials), with tinplate at around +13%, laminates up 20%, while material from recycling has increased by 35% compared to 2016. The average rise in aluminium prices is around 5.5% for virgin raw materials and 7% for secondary raw materials.
The prices of raw materials used to produce cellulose packaging are also on the up, with corrugated cardboard at +9.6% and cellulose used to produce bags at +8%.
Plastic polymer prices show different trends: Nylon is up 30%, PET is up by approx. 25%, polystyrene by 13%. The price of PVC also grew in 2017 (+8%), while polyethylene showed a drop (-9% on average).
After years of stability the rate of transparent cullet has also increased (+3%), while lumber prices put in an average increase of 3%.
In some cases the increases in raw material prices may have led to increases in the prices of finished products. This is the case, for example, with pallets, though not for aluminium packaging, where price increases for both the virgin raw material and the raw material deriving from scrap were absorbed without affecting the final price of packaging.
In quantitative terms, analysing the tons of packaging produced in 2017, an increase of +3% was seen: the production of empty packaging in Italy has thus exceeded 16,000 t/000. And if, on the one hand, exports have found new vigor, on the other domestic demand has also driven Italian manufacture.

Siemens Pack Awards 2018 at Ipack-IMA
Innovation Awards. The competition is open to builders who present a machine equipped with Siemens technologies and solutions at the fair. In a dedicated event held at the Siemen’s stand the jury comprising a UCIMA representative and sector experts will award the best machine for each of three categories: Technological innovation; Innovation 4.0; Innovation in sustainability. The winners will receive the Siemens SIMATIC ITP1000 industrial tablet as well as ample visibility of their machine on the Siemens portal and in sector magazines. (www.siemens.it/SiemensPackAward/

Stories of circular economy
Sponsored by the Ecodom RAEE recovery consortium and the CDCA Documentation Centre of Environmental Conflicts, anyone can take part in the contest “Stories of Circular Economy” by entering a video, photo, audio and written account of a little great change in the Italian economic world.
Subsequent to an online selection a Quality Technical Jury will pick the winners for each category capable of giving an account of Italy’s circular economy using innovative languages. The contest (sponsored by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and by the National Order of Journalists) carries a cash prize and promotion of the chosen entries on media of national standing. Enrolment is free and the deadline for submission of materials is 31 May 2018. (www.economiacircolare.com/giuria-regolamento)

Objective Aluminium Competition 2018
For the eleventh year running CIAL (Italian Consortium for the Aluminium Packaging Recycling) is organising “Obiettivo Alluminio – Rinascere all’Infinito” a project for secondary school students all over Italy, in partnership with the Giffoni Film Festival, the world’s biggest kids’ film festival, with the support of the Italian Environment Ministry.
The goal of the project is to promote awareness among teenagers of the importance of separate collection and recycling of aluminium, a material that is 100% recyclable an infinite number of times. The initiative has been hugely successful, and is considered one of the most important environmental education projects in schools today. More info on www.cial.it/english_post/obiettivo-alluminio-2018.

Compendium of structures, pag.44-45
From “Le parole del packaging – Glossario ragionato per il sistema-imballaggio”, by Valeria Bucchetti and Erik Ciravegna, Edizioni Dativo, 2009.


New restrictions on Bisphenol A in FCMs

Regulation (EU) 2018/213 of 12 February 2018 goes into effect on 6 March 2018, and will be implemented as of 6 September 2018.
Source: Ircpack (www.ircpack.com)

On 12 February 2018, the European Commission passed Regulation (EU) 2018/13, which imposes further restrictions on the use of Bisphenol A in FCMs (food contact materials).
The regulation, published in the Official Journal, lowers the specific migration limit (SML) of BPA for varnishes and coatings – such as those used on the interior of cans – and modifies sections of Regulation (EU) 10/2011 addressing this substance in food contact plastics.

The new limit is set at 0.05 mg of BPA per kg of food product (mg/kg). The previous limit was 0.6 mg/kg.

Like the one introduced in 2011, the new regulation does not permit migration of BPA from materials and objects specifically intended for contact with baby formulas, and this ban is extended to varnishes and coatings applied to materials belonging to this specific category.
However, materials and objects legally released to the market before 6 September 2018 – the date of the regulation’s implementation – will be allowed to remain on the market until stocks are exhausted.

The full text of the regulation is available at
https://lnkd.in/gP5ty8x


CONAI Environmental Contribution: Summary 2018

The Conai Environmental Contribution (CAC), established for each type of packaging material, is the form of financing via which CONAI shares out the burden of the higher cost of segregated collection, recycling and recovery of waste of packaging. These costs, based on the provisions of D.lgs. 152/06, are distributed “in proportion to the total quantity, weight and the type of packaging material placed on the domestic market.”
pantone_ultra_violet_2018

And the color of the year is …

For the Pantone experts  2018 is purple. More precisely, ultra violet 18-3838: deep, intense, mystical, daring, secret, has within it two opposites, red and blue but perhaps precisely for this reason, it can speak to everyone with bi-partisan language.
A complex color-purple-it has the sign of creativity, the  defiant taste of nonconformity and  it certainly does not go unnoticed.
The Pantone Color Institute (famous for defining its by now universal color standard) has  for a long time  chosen the “color of the year”, providing not only precious trend  indications  for  designers and brands. According to its Deputy Chairman Laurie Pressman, it is actually a “reflection on what our world needs today”.
pantene_con-clessidra

Mindful  consumption = less waste

Interesting initiative fielded by P&G in 2016, to encourage consumers in Southern California to waste less water in the shower. To monitor the time taken cleaning oneself, the brand has developed a limited edition Pantene Pro-V shampoo bottle, which  has a small  5 minute hourglass  attached  considered the optimal average time per operation. When the consumer  pours the shampoo onto their  hair, the sand in the hourglass starts flowing,  thus indicating when to  close the taps, saving between 47 and 90 litres of water per shower. Small changes can have a big impact (saveourwater.com)
Comieco_nuovostatuto

The new Comieco statute has come into force
With ministerial decree 23 November 2017, published in the Official Journal of 15 December 2017, the Comieco statute adopted by the extraordinary Assembly of the associates of 31 July 2017 was enacted.
Among the changes introduced by the new statute, which incorporates the model drawn up by the competent ministries to implement the provisions of law, the widening of the co-operative to organic recycling and energy recovery operators, with the consequent enlargement of the governance of the Consortium.
With the enactment of the new statutory discipline the new consortium Regulations, this too adopted by the assembly held 31 July 2017, also comes into force. The Consortium is working on the implementation of the new by-laws and regulations to allow adhesion of new categories of members and to renew cooperative bodies.
Businesses that are not yet members wishing to join in time to attend the next consortium general assembly must submit the application form by 28 February 2018.
(www.comieco.org).
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Table 1. Compendium of structures
From “Le parole del packaging – Glossario ragionato per il sistema-imballaggio”, by Valeria Bucchetti and Erik Ciravegna, Edizioni Dativo, 2009.
3_17_10_10

The volume 10×10 is part of the broader work of research and reflection that started with the drawing up of the Ethical Packaging Charter and shows how the Charter can guide research, teaching and design activities. In particular, the publication documents what has been developed in the design workshop “Food Packaging, good packaging. The principles of the Ethical Packaging Charter to Promote Good Practices”, where students from the Master of Science Degree in Design of Communication (Milan Polytechnic Design School) explored solutions focused on the “communicative dimension of packaging” starting from the ten principles expressed in the Charter (responsible, balanced, safe, accessible, transparent, informative, up-to-date, forward-looking, educative, sustainable).
10x10_copertina-1

da-sapere-3
Table 1. Compendium of structures
From “Le parole del packaging – Glossario ragionato per il sistema-imballaggio”, by Valeria Bucchetti and Erik Ciravegna, Edizioni Dativo, 2009.

36_37_da-Le-parole-del-packaging
Table 1. Compendium of structures
From “Le parole del packaging – Glossario ragionato per il sistema-imballaggio”, by Valeria Bucchetti and Erik Ciravegna, Edizioni Dativo, 2009.
da-sapere_latte_photo_dissapore

Greater clarity in nomenclature of “milk products”. In mid-June 2017, the EU court of justice ruled in case C-422/16 that, for the purposes of promotion and marketing, the term “milk” is only permissible for animal products (EU regulations had previously allowed certain exceptions). So-called “rice milk” and “soy milk”, as well as tofu, are not derived from milk, just as seitan has nothing to do with cheese. With this decision, the EU courts have clarified that, even though the exceptions are allowable by law, they are nonetheless prohibited si nce they are confusing to consumers. (Source: InformaAlimentare, July 2017).

 

 

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