Pentel launches plastic-free packaging

As it prepares for the London Stationery Show, Pentel is replacing all its key blister cards with a range of plastic-free packaging made from 100% recyclable cardboard

The new hanging packs combine high impact appearance, with excellent product visibility and are the result of extensive planning and research.

Pentel marketing manager Wendy Vickery explained, “Moving away from conventional blister cards, with their single-use plastic, is the right thing to do for the environment, but it’s not without its challenges. The obvious benefit of the plastic bubble is that it affords full product visibility to the consumer, which is a real advantage in those precious few seconds at the point of sale.”

To solve the problem of how to show products most effectively Pentel has created cardboard packs featuring an angled aperture that allows consumers to see how many products are in each pack and to identify the ink colour of products.

With strong Pentel branding and prominent key messages about recycled product content and refillable items the new packs are designed to attract attention and generate swift purchasing decisions.

The range includes hero products such as the quick-drying EnerGel pen family, the best-selling P200 mechanical pencil series, unique Hybrid Dual Metallic pens and creative products in the Pentel Arts range, including top-quality pocket and water brush pens.

Vickery said, “The launch of our new all-cardboard retail packs is the next step in the journey we embarked on in 2006 when we launched the Pentel Recycology range of products made with a minimum of 50 per cent recycled material. At the time there were few, if any, products in our industry made with recycled materials, but 15 years later the picture is thankfully very different. And we know that over the last few years especially packaging has been scrutinised in an unprecedented way, with buyers and consumers seeking to make more environment-friendly purchasing decisions to avoid the creation of unnecessary waste”.

Pentel’s commitment to reduce the impact of its activities goes back much further. As a global business, Pentel has a proud history of creating refillable products such as mechanical pencils, which eliminate the need for waste, while as far back as 1996 the company formulated its Environmental Principles philosophy, which informs its operating systems around the world.

We Vickery added, “For decades our office packs of loose products have been made using recycled or recyclable board. Now, we’re delighted to offer retail customers hanging packs made using board from sustainably managed woodland. Our new retail packs combine high-impact visibility with environment-friendly credentials for maximum on-peg appeal. And the other good news is that this important development won’t affect planograms, as our new packs are the same size as our previous blister cards.”

Pentel’s new plastic-free retail packs will be on display at the London Stationery Show from 5 to 6 October on the Pentel stand, M507.