The Flexible Packaging Association has created a Brand Owner Council, a new membership category giving brand owners direct input on flexible packaging issues. Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble are the inaugural members, sitting alongside converters, suppliers and policymakers.
Why this mattersDirect brand-owner engagement in a US trade body signals growing buyer influence over flexible packaging's sustainability and policy agenda.
- FPA launched a Brand Owner Council as a new membership category
- Inaugural members are Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble
- The council includes brand owners, converters, suppliers and policymakers
- Focus areas include circularity, design innovation, consumer education and public policy advocacy
- FPA expects additional companies to join the council over time
California's SB 343 truth-in-labelling law, which restricts use of recyclability symbols such as the chasing arrows, applies to products and packaging made after 4 October 2026, according to CalRecycle. A preliminary injunction granted in July suspended most enforcement, but companies that do not comply remain exposed to private lawsuits. Amcor says the resulting uncertainty is stalling moves to formats such as paper-based flexible packaging, while How2Recycle is continuing to prepare for compliance.
Why this mattersUnresolved recyclability-claim rules leave US converters exposed to private litigation and are holding back commitments to new recyclable formats such as paper-based flexibles.
- SB 343 restrictions on recyclability claims apply to products and packaging made after 4 October 2026, according to CalRecycle
- A preliminary injunction granted in July 2026 suspended most enforcement, but private lawsuits against non-compliant companies remain possible
- Under SB 343, a material may be called recyclable only if it is collected by programmes covering at least 60 per cent of California's population and sorted at facilities serving at least 60 per cent of state recycling programmes
- Recyclability determinations under SB 343 also feed into the extended producer responsibility programme created by SB 54 of 2022
- Sarah Paleg, sustainability director at Amcor's flexible packaging division, says the law has added a new level of substantiation and is stalling shifts to formats such as paper flexibles
- How2Recycle processed about 35,000 label requests this year as users migrated to How2Recycle Pro, with requests up 29 per cent year on year
A pet food brand, Elementary Cold Pressed, has adopted the award-winning Pouch3 Cuboid flexible pouch made by converter Sun Centre USA, extending a design first used for coffee packaging by Lake Michigan Coffee Company and EDC Coffee. The headspace-free, single-web LDPE format uses up to 30% less material than a comparable stand-up or flat-bottom pouch, which HP's flexible packaging category manager said is prompting brands to switch as US states introduce weight- or volume-based extended producer responsibility fees.
Why this mattersUS state EPR fees based on weight or volume are starting to steer brand-owner format choices toward material-lean pouches, a lever converters can sell on.
- Elementary Cold Pressed pet food is using the Pouch3 Cuboid pouch, made by converter Sun Centre USA
- The format uses up to 30% less material than an equivalent flat-bottom or stand-up pouch, per FPA
- It is built from recyclable LDPE in a single-web structure
- The design won two Gold awards from the Flexible Packaging Association after debuting on a coffee pack for Lake Michigan Coffee Company and EDC Coffee
- Several US states charge EPR fees to producers based on packaging weight or volume, giving material-reducing formats a direct fee saving
- The Elementary pouch substrate was printed on an HP Indigo digital press
