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
Procter & Gamble has begun shipping 37 fl oz Tide laundry detergent bottles in North America made with 50% post-consumer recycled HDPE, processed on an Erema extrusion line. The company says it has used recycled HDPE in North American packaging for more than 35 years and plans to convert further packaging lines to 50% PCR content in coming years.
Why this mattersA move by one of the largest HDPE bottle users to 50% PCR strengthens demand for recycled resin and signals maturing rHDPE supply chains for converters.
- P&G's 37 fl oz Tide laundry detergent bottles in North America now contain 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content
- The recycled HDPE is reprocessed on an Erema extrusion machine
- P&G says it has used PCR in HDPE packaging in North America for more than 35 years
- Further conversions to 50% PCR are planned for other packaging in coming years
- P&G helped establish the US rHDPE supply stream with industry partners in the early 1990s
Procter & Gamble has granted Austrian recycling equipment maker Lindner exclusive global rights to Flexloop, a solvent-assisted mechanical recycling technology for flexible plastic film. The modular process adds a solvent extraction step ahead of conventional washing to strip inks, adhesives and odours from polyethylene and polypropylene films, targeting recyclate for cosmetics, personal care and hygiene packaging. Lindner reports contaminant removal rates of 99.7-99.8% in challenge tests.
Why this mattersHigher-purity mechanically recycled polyethylene could open sensitive, higher-value applications currently reserved for virgin resin, easing recycled-content compliance for flexible-film converters.
- P&G developed Flexloop and has licensed it exclusively and globally to Lindner
- Flexloop is a modular solvent extraction step that integrates into existing Lindner washing and recycling lines
- The process targets flexible film streams including LDPE, HDPE and polypropylene
- Challenge tests using benzophenone and methyl stearate showed contaminant removal rates of 99.7-99.8%
- Target applications include cosmetics, personal care and hygiene packaging
- The technology requires no new processing plant, building on existing mechanical recycling infrastructure
The US House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 28 to 19 on 16 September 2026 to send H.R. 7502 to the House floor, a bill that would count advanced recycling as recycling and set a national standard for recycled-content labelling claims, overriding state rules. The American Forest & Paper Association opposes the bill. Conservative group Consumer Action for a Strong Economy has written to International Paper, Pratt Industries, Kimberly-Clark, Packaging Corporation of America, Smurfit Westrock and Procter & Gamble, all of which have executives on the AF&PA board, asking them to make the association drop its opposition or reconsider membership.
Why this mattersFederal rules on recycled-content claims would set one standard across the states and expose the split between paper and plastics recycling interests.
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 28 to 19 on 16 September 2026 to advance H.R. 7502, sponsored by Republican New York Rep. Nick Langworthy.
- The bill would set a national standard for when a product can be labelled as made with recycled material and would override state rules on those claims.
- AF&PA opposes the bill, spokesperson Lindsay Murphy told Politico; the association says recycled-content claims should reflect the material actually in the product.
- Consumer Action for a Strong Economy sent September letters to International Paper, Pratt Industries, Kimberly-Clark, Packaging Corporation of America, Smurfit Westrock and Procter & Gamble.
- The letters ask each company to make AF&PA stop opposing advanced recycling legislation or reconsider its board membership.
- Texas Rep. Marc Veasey was the only Democrat to vote for the bill, and no Senate version has been introduced.
Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Unilever have become founding members of the PaperFlex Consortium, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and (RE)SET, to jointly fund and trial paper-based alternatives to flexible plastic packaging such as sachets, wrappers and pouches. The consortium targets markets where flexible plastic use is high but collection and recycling infrastructure is limited, and remains open to further brand owners, innovators, suppliers and investors. Each member will continue to make its own packaging decisions independently.
Why this mattersA joint R&D push by six of the largest packaging buyers could accelerate paper-based substitutes for flexible plastic, reshaping demand for converters and material suppliers.
- Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestle, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Unilever are founding members of the PaperFlex Consortium.
- The consortium is convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and powered by (RE)SET.
- Work will cover technologies including biodegradable coatings to improve product protection, shelf life and manufacturing-line performance of paper-based materials.
- The initiative follows an Ellen MacArthur Foundation report published earlier in 2026, endorsed by 48 businesses, NGOs, investors and academics, setting six design criteria for paper-based alternatives.
- Flexible plastic packaging, including sachets, wrappers and pouches, is described by the Foundation as the fastest-growing type of plastic packaging globally.
- The consortium remains open to additional FMCG companies, innovators, suppliers and investors.
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation says responsible paper-based flexible packaging does not yet exist at required performance, scale and cost.
- Research priorities include coatings, product protection, shelf life, consumer usability and manufacturing-line performance.
- The consortium targets flexible packaging formats sized A5 or smaller, including sachets, wrappers and pouches, in markets such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines that lack formal plastic collection systems.
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation said it has invited further companies to join the consortium.
- A separate EU flagship project, BIOWRAP, targets replacing over 100 million square metres of plastic bubble wrap within five years of the project ending, aiming for a 90% paper recycling material recovery rate
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation states commercially viable paper-based replacements do not yet exist at the performance, scale and cost required across all applications
- Unilever has doubled its packaging R&D spending and built a team of more than 60 material scientists focused on paper and barrier coatings.
- Unilever cites its 2024 UK launch of a grease-resistant paper-based Knorr stock cube wrapper as a reference case for the consortium's work.
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business names small-format flexible plastic packaging as one of three key systemic barriers to tackling plastic waste.
- Coverage specifies the consortium targets small-format flexible plastic packaging such as sachets and pouches
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation said no responsible paper-based flexible packaging solutions yet exist at the required performance, scale and cost.
Unilever has become a founding member of the PaperFlex Consortium, set up by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and consultancy (Re)set to develop paper-based alternatives to plastic flexible packaging such as sachets, wrappers and pouches. Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestle, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble are also founding members, funding joint trials of materials intended to protect products and run on existing filling lines.
Why this mattersSix of the largest consumer goods groups backing paper flexibles as a group could accelerate converter investment in fibre-based barrier packaging for sachets and pouches.
- Unilever joined the PaperFlex Consortium in September 2026.
- Founding members also include Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestle, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble.
- The consortium was formed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and environmental consultancy (Re)set.
- Members will jointly fund and run trials of paper-based flexible packaging as a plastic alternative.
- Unilever says it has doubled its packaging R&D investment and employs more than 60 material scientists working on paper-based materials and barrier coatings.
- The consortium's launch builds on a 2026 Ellen MacArthur Foundation report backed by 48 companies, NGOs, investors and academics
- Six design criteria for the transition include recyclability, biodegradability and responsible sourcing of raw materials
- The consortium remains open to additional companies, suppliers, innovators and investors
