Prestigious design competition recognizes innovation, beauty, and sustainability.
The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) recently selected the 2021 recipients of the AmeriStar Packaging Awards, one of the industry’s oldest and most prestigious design competitions. Designs from all segments of product packaging were eligible for consideration, and the awards included a category for students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs in colleges, universities, or vocational/technical school programs. Winners will be eligible to compete in the World Packaging Organization’s elite WorldStar Packaging Awards.
Dental care was a big winner at this year’s competition. Colgate’s Elixer package took both the Design Excellence and Best in Show awards, receiving top ratings in every category of judging. According to the IoPP, it’s rare for the same package to win more than one of the top three honors in the same year, but the Elixer product was rated as a truly exceptional package in multiple ways. It uniquely marries a PET bottle with LiquiGlide technology, enabling the Colgate Palmolive team to use PET with more viscous toothpastes. The cap opening was developed to dispense viscous toothpaste on a toothbrush while permitting air into the bottle, allowing smooth outflow of toothpaste. Designed for recyclability, it includes a thick-walled PET-E cap to provide a premium aesthetic while retaining compatibility with the PET recyclability stream. The label is a combination printed PS label, 4 colors with dual matte and gloss varnishes, as well as two cold foil applications and a reverse printed back label. The bottle itself is produced through a Single Stage ISBM process and assembled with an injection molded PP shoulder shroud and a thick-walled PET-E cap.
The Sustainable Packaging Award went to GlaxoSmithKline’s 100% Plastic-Free, 100% Recyclable Secondary Packaging Toothbrush. This award honors the package’s efficient energy usage, recyclability, and eco-friendly packaging materials. This toothbrush twin pack consists of a color matched, thermoformed PaperFoam tray that is compostable and recyclable in the paper waste stream. It is heat sealed to a printed, SBS NatraLock® UltraSeal top card engineered to be used as a plastic clamshell replacement, while maximizing shelf appeal and enhancing sustainability. The top card has a die-cut window glued with clear, heat-sealable compostable cellulose transparent film, allowing the consumer to see the product. Finally, on the back of the cellulose tray are two paper-based labels, also plastic free.
See the full list of winners, including all categories, on the IoPP website here.
It is so encouraging to see great innovation like this in the packaging industry, and all of us at AMGRAPH congratulate the winners! If you are inspired to take a leap in your product packaging concept, give us a call. We’ll go over your needs and work with your design team to come up with the right sustainable package. We have both the equipment and the expertise to help you do amazing (and maybe even award-winning) things!
