UK-based print and package maker St Ives Music and Multimedia, part of St Ives plc, has created 100% biodegradable and recyclable packaging for Warner Bros' The 11th Hour DVD documentary to match the Leonardo DiCaprio-fronted film that explores the ecological impact humankind is having on the planet.

“In a marketplace where plastic forms one of the main components for all packaging solutions, on release of this documentary, Warner Bros were keen to ensure that the packaging did not conflict with the film's ethical message,” says Martin Still, special projects manager, St Ives Music and Multimedia.

“It was critical that the packaging for this documentary reflected the gravity of the subject matter, so making the DVD tray and case 100% biodegradable [supplied by Dutch firm PaperFoam] was the most significant way of achieving this. As this approach had never been used for such a high-profile film, we were really excited to be involved in designing and printing such an innovative product.”

As well as ensuring the packaging was completely environmentally friendly, Warner Bros also asked St Ives to make the DVD case appear noticeably ‘earthy'. St Ives sourced and sampled many different substrates for the DVD box outer-casing, and chose chipboard made from 100 per cent post-consumer waste supplied by Smurfit Kappa. This substrate contributed to the natural look and feel of the case.

The tray featured in The 11th Hour packaging is made from paper, cornstarch and potato. As the tray was considerably lighter than its plastic equivalent, the outer-casing was upgraded to double-thickness to give the DVD box a more solid structure.

St Ives printed The 11th Hour pack using KBA 6-colour presses and eco-friendly, vegetable-based inks.
‘We believe the demand for packaging solutions, such as the one produced for The 11th Hour, reflects a growing awareness among all companies to source the most environmentally friendly options available,” says Still.

Sustainable is Good magazine notes that, for the US market, the DVD title was released in April in a 'wrapper' supplied by Univenture. Univenture’s EnvyPak technology was used for converting EarthFirst PLA film, a sustainable and renewable bio based film, to make the wrapper.

Story filed 13.08.08