PACKNATUR®

VPZ was founded in 1982 to produce food packaging. Their portfolio is still traditional: papers, films, nets and trays but the company developed their portfolio with an environmental focus to product development. They launched PACKNATUR® in 2013. 

Plastic has been an integral part of packaging production for far too long. Nets for lemons, potatoes, onions and many other fruit and vegetables in supermarkets are also made from plastic. 

Today, 84% of VPZ products are naturally of biogenic origin. They derive from seaweed, bio polymers from agricultural waste or netting from cellulose fibers. However, their packaging is compostable, recyclable and made from biodegradable materials under their brand PackNatur. 

Their PACKNATUR® Cellulose tube netting is made from FSC® - certified beechwood, using LENZING™ Modal have replaced plastic nets for organic fruit and vegetables in all leading Austrian supermarkets. The raw material used is sourced from local beechwood forests. The beechwood, which is recovered from forest thinning, is converted to modal fibres using carbon-neutral processes that respect the strictest environmental standards. These fibres form the basis of their Packnatur cellulose tube netting, which has since been adopted by all leading supermarkets in Austria. Packnatur doesn't let any organic potato slip through the net.

They have also developied organic wineglass labels to complement their net packaging, in association with IM Polymer GmbH, Lenzing Plastics GmbH & Co KG and the vegetable growers association, Marchfeldgemüse. 

They have received several awards: 

• Sustainable Food Awards / Category Sustainable Packaging / Runner 2019.
• Rushlight Awards 2019.
• WorldStar Packaging Award 2018, Category Food Packaging, Sustainable Award in silver, Presidential Award in bronze.
• Green Packaging Star Award 2017.