November 4, 2015
What can take the form of a bottle, jar or tray but is shatterproof and lighter in weight than glass?
What is FDA-approved, contains no BPA and is completely recyclable?
What can be processed by a variety of processes, principle among them being thermoforming, extrusion blow-molding, injection blow-molding and injection stretch blow-molding?
What can result in lower fuel consumption during transportation, whether by road, rail, water, or air?
If you answered polyethylene terephthalate (or PET for short) to any of these “packaging riddles” you are correct.
While there are certainly opponents to petroleum derivatives such as PET, when it comes to packaging it is clear that this particular plastic has a plethora of benefits, such as those above listed in Sterling Anthony’s recent Packaging World article, “Three Cheers for PET”.
Of course, PET is not the only choice when it comes to packaging materials. That’s why we think it’s so important to evaluate and consider the characteristics of multiple materials when deciding which is best for your project – from sustainability to tensile strength to clarity to formability and ability to denest.
It’s also why at TEQ we’ve develop expertise with over 25 unique materials including:
Polypropylene, High Impact Polystyrene, Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol, Polycarbonate, Amorphous Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polyvinyl Chloride, XT Polymer, High Density Polyethylene, Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate and the latest renewable, sustainable, biodegradable, and recycled plastics
And it’s why when we see a need, we develop our own proprietary materials and packaging solutions like TEQethylene™, our recyclable medical packaging solution that uses proprietary blend of HDPE in combination with adhesive coated Tyvek®, a breathable HDPE thermoplastic lidding developed by DuPont™.
What about you? What characteristics do you think are most important to consider when selecting packaging materials?