Sonoco Expands Sustainable Packaging

Sonoco recently partnered with the Rain Forest Alliance to ensure that the wood products used in its rigid paperboard packages are certified sustainable and originate from responsibly managed forests.

As one of the largest diversified companies responsible for packaging, the certified paperboard will apply to common household products such as coffee, stacked snack crisps, refrigerated dough, frozen juices, powdered drink mixes, baby formula, nuts, shortening and powdered cleansers.

Three paper mills in Canada and 11 in the U.S. have secured the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood Chain-of-Custody certification, meaning that the mills use only responsibly harvested wood products from well-managed forests. For Sonoco, Chain-of-Custody relates to the fibers purchased and used in the paperboard manufacturing process, and certifies the use of pre- and post-consumer sources in the end product.

Sonoco recycles more than 3.5 million tons of paper, old corrugated containers, metals and plastics annually. Most of the reclaimed and recycled paperboard is used in its own consumer and industrial packaging products.

Sonoco is also a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, along with other household names such as Kraft Foods, McDonald’s, Burt’s Bees and DuPont.