APRIL NEWS TOP


TWEETS Process_Tech PROCESSING TECH


IVL to purchase PET resin facility of PT Polypet Karyapersada http://bit.ly


MyBinding MYBINDING.COM


"Good design is obvious.Great design is transparent." - Joe Sparano #Quote


SCAPackaging SCA PACKAGING


Closing up the Tempo portraits with Ilias - our Greek finalist! http://fb.me/1n


juan_diaz_diaz JUAN DIAZ DIAZ


Time for threats & opportunities for the self-adhesive label sector, Corey Reardon, AWA #FINTS12 http://www.awa-bv.com/?c=home session


Emma_Czirok EMMA CZIROK


Have a social media strategy? Guru offers advice to plastics firms: http://bit.ly/wqCcxWvia @AddThis


i2packaging I2PACKAGING


Procter & Gamble to introduce more sustainable clamshell #packaging for its Gillette Fusion ProGlide razors: goo.gl/5nKAE


PackagingDiva JOANN HINES


Edible Packaging Lets You Drink A Beverage & Eat The Bottle Too http://bit.ly/yehkjk


KronesAG KRONES


Light and eco-friendly: this is Oscar-winning #packaging http://bit.ly/wJRwN7 Material Handling and B2B category: #LitePac


NutritionNews NUTRITION NEWS


More foods going to pouch packaging: http://ow.ly/9vL82 #food #packaging


Monicals MONICALS


I love retro-inspired packaging, even while cleaning... #packaging #bonami http://instagr.am/p/H4uy


Join us on Twitter at @PGazette


West eyes East for holography, says IHMA


China will play a ‘seminal’ role this year in packaging holography as interest in export markets and new technology drives growth, says the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA). The move comes as China increasingly looks outwards, and its manufacturers increasingly reach towards the west to sustain growth and economic ambition. The IHMA’s Glenn Wood says it is only a question of how long it is before China becomes an internationally recognised holography powerhouse – some of the world's widest holographic embossing machines (up 2.7m wide) are now made in Beijing for domestic and export markets. “Chinese hologram manufacturers have lacked internal coherence and never had a voice on the world stage,” says Glenn Wood. “This, coupled with related challenges of language, distance and size of domestic market, has meant manufacturers have had little direct outreach to the west.” But 2012 could well be a ‘sea change’ with the balance of power shifting, says Glenn, as China’s rapidly growing interest in exporting its technology is reciprocated by western companies. “Recent visits to China have confirmed the feeling that it is opening itself up to meet the west’s interest in its technologies,” adds Glenn. “This includes UV embossing technology for packaging, an area in which China is several years ahead of the west.”


According to a new report from think tank the Adam Smith Institute, the government's consideration of plain packaging for cigarettes is not only "profoundly illiberal", but also an "unprecedented assault on commercial expression." The institute, in its report


entitled: Plain Packaging: Commercial Expression, Anti- Smoking Extremism and the Risks of Hyper-regulation, claims that plain packaging will not only have no affect on how many cigarettes are sold, but will instead promote increased counterfeit or smuggled goods, that, in turn, "lowers prices, fuels underage consumption, deprives the treasury of tax revenue and makes an unhealthy habit still more hazardous." According to the institute, "It is hard to think of a policy that could delight counterfeiters more than standardising the design, shape and colour of cigarette packs." The think tank also feel very


strongly about plain packaging's affect on branding and marketing. They say: "It not only tramples on the principles of a free market, but it may also be illegal. Expert opinion, including that of the European Communities Trade Mark


Association, the British Brands Group and the International Trademark Association, says that plain packaging is an infringement of intellectual property rights and a violation of international free trade agreements to which the UK is a signatory." According to the institute,


plain packaging is just not going to work, as "focus groups and opinion polls have repeatedly shown that the public does not believe that plain packaging will stop people smoking. Even ardent anti-smoking campaigners do not make such a claim. Instead, activists assert that nonsmokers take up the habit as a result of seeing “glitzy” tobacco packaging." This claim, they believe, "lacks plausibility and is bereft of empirical evidence." The institute is also weary of


the absence of information on the pack if it is to become plain. They state: "Plain packaging is not a health policy in any recognisable sense. It neither informs nor educates. On the contrary, it limits information and restricts choice. It will serve only to inconvenience retailers, stigmatise consumers and encourage counterfeiters."


MONDI REVENUE UP 2.3%


Mondi, the international paper and packaging group, have revealed in their full year results to the 31st December 2011, that group revenue is up by 2.3 per cent whilst operating profit is up by 35.8 per cent. Profit before tax was also up, this time by 37.2 per cent, whilst return on capital employed (ROCE) increased by 22 per cent. The company also enjoyed what they called “excellent” cash generation. Net


4 | Packaging Gazette | PackagingGazette.co.uk


debt has gone down to €831 million (a decrease of 39 per cent), whilst free cash flow has increased by 72 per cent to 72 euro cents per share. David Hathorn,Mondi chief executive, said of the results:“The Group’s focus on performance, low-cost operating model, and robust financial position, enabledMondi to deliver record results in 2011. This was against a backdrop of a strong trading environment.”


PackagingGazette


Is plain packaging "profoundly illiberal"?


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52