Growth in magazine wrap
25th November 2019
With consumers demanding an alternative to polythene wrap, compostable potato starch wrap has become the leader in sustainable, environmentally friendly fulfilment for magazine mailings.
Feedback from readers drives uptake of potato starch wrap
The National Trust, RSPB, UNISON, Which' magazine and The Guardian, alongside others, have all switched to using potato starch magazine wrap. Although more expensive than conventional plastic wrap, potato starch offers protection from the elements and has become the leader in environmentally friendly fulfilment for magazine mailings. The packaging has a silky feel and a smart, translucent appearance.
Fully compostable potato starch wrapper
The material used to manufacture compostable wrap comes from waste potatoes, not a crop grown expressly for this purpose. The 100%-compostable potato starch wrapper contains no oil-based materials, plastics or harmful toxins, and carries the EN13432 certification. It’s durable but will break down in less than 52 weeks on a compost heap, making it the ideal material for wrapping magazines, catalogues or brochures for postal distribution.
Finding the balance between cost and sustainability
Potato starch magazine wrap is not the cheapest wrapping solution, although as demand increases the price is expected to become more affordable. It is worth remembering that the wrapping is only one part of your total mailing costs. It's likely that your postage contributes the bulk of the mailing budget, with print and personalisation a relatively small proportion. In practice, therefore, switching from plastic to compostable wrap may not increases the total cost as much you might expect.