Plastic packaging has become part of our daily lives and an essential component in commodity goods. As a developer of innovative plastics, SCGC has been working to make plastic packaging greener in various ways, and now it has joined forces with LION, one of Thailand’s leaders in the commodity goods industry, to ensure that its efforts percolate through to consumers.

Through this collaboration, LION and SCGC have co-developed eco-friendly packaging using solutions under SCGC GREEN POLYMER™ brand, which consumers are well familiar with. This move is in keeping with LION’s business direction “Technology for Health in All Policies,” which seeks to center its product and innovation development on the wellbeing of consumers, employees, society, and the environment.

LION’s Products and Commitment to Environmental Policies

We had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Mr. Somsak Srisaardrak, SPC Business Executive Manager, Marketing Department of LION CORPORATION (THAILAND) LIMITED about LION’s vision, which can be seen through the packaging of daily products, and how it is passing on eco-consciousness directly to consumers.

“Throughout the 53 years since our establishment, our policy right from the beginning has been to conduct business operations alongside environmental conservation. We have also recently announced a policy to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050 as well as to switch to recyclable packaging and use post-consumer plastics in place of virgin resin in the packaging of all our products.”

The new packaging co-developed by LION and SCGC, which will hit the shelves in mid-2022, will mark a huge step forward in raising public awareness of efficient use of plastics. Developed with the green plastic solutions SCGC GREEN POLYMER™under the overarching Reduce-Recyclable-Recycle concept, the new packaging for three products will soon be available to consumers.

1. REDUCE: 12% Reduced Plastic Resin Used in ‘Shokubutsu Monogatari’ Bottle

Manufactured with SMX™ Technology, SCGC™ HDPE S411B offers durability as well as reduces the amount of plastic resin required to produce ‘Shokubutsu Monogatari’ bottle by 12% compared to normal grade plastics without compromising the strength. The high-quality HDPE also lessens greenhouse gas emissions during production by as much as 7%.

2. RECYCLABLE: Switching to All-PE ‘Shokubutsu Monogatari’ Refill Pouches for Recyclability

With SCGC’s Recyclable Packaging Solutions, collaboration with business partners, and Innovative plastic resin from Dow, the former Shokobutsu Monogatari pouch — made from a hard-to-recycle multi-material film composed of a PET or nylon film layer and a LLDPE film layer — is being retired in favor of a mono-material pouch made from BOPE and LLDPE films laminated together. The new packaging not only retains the existing functionalities but also lends itself to recycling and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 73% throughout its useful life.

3. RECYCLE: New ‘Pao’ Bottle Featuring High Quality Odorless PCR

SCGC has developed innovative packaging made from High Quality Odorless PCR HDPE resin. Produced by Teamplas, Thailand’s leading plastic recycler, with odor removal technology to specifically address the issue of unpleasant smells found in PCR, It is an ideal material for containers of scented products, from home care products such as laundry detergents to personal care products, such as body wash. The bottle itself helps reduce the amount of households plastic waste in the country, while the production of this PCR requires less energy than regular resins and can thus help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70%.

LION-SCGC Partnership for Green Packaging for All

Efficient use and circulation of resources is a key tenet of the circular economy and has become a matter of great import for entrepreneurs across the globe, thanks to both mounting demand from consumers and policies introduced by various governments, which can only be realized and translated into real products with the collaboration of all sectors.

As an SCGC representative, Mr. Niwat Athiwattananont, Technology & Product Development Director, SCGC, told us about the green packaging collaboration with LION, from the development process to the final packaging that will be available to consumers soon.

“A change in material or a reduction in the amount of plastic used or the total weight can directly affect the quality of the packaging. Therefore, to make such changes, it was necessary for us to form a collaborative team to test the prototypes – a process that required constant collaboration between both parties. To bridge LION’s requirements and SCGC’s existing solutions, we decided to begin our pilot with packaging that could be developed quickly and would produce tangible social impacts, involve minimal risk, and could be built upon later on. We then jointly came up with specifications later.”

“One of LION’s strengths that was extremely beneficial to the collaboration was their deep insights and close connection to consumers, which enabled them to identify consumer needs clearly and accurately. On the other hand, thanks to its familiarity with materials and technologies, technical experts, and i2P, SCGC was able to offer innovations that met LION’s requirements. With our strengths put together, it was possible for us to develop packaging that met the specifications and overcame all the existing weaknesses, ready to enter actual production.”

Towards Innovative Packaging for The Future

The collaboration between the two top-tier organizations is a journey towards the same goal. “The final product is not just packaging. If you look at the big picture, it’s also a solution to a national and global problem. I have presented this vision to the team and told them that if what we do benefits not only our business but also the world, then it’s something worth doing. Despite the challenges, I think it’s worth it, and my team has also enjoyed the collaboration,” added Niwat.

On LION’s part, this is the beginning of a journey towards the future of green packaging.

“To realize our net zero carbon and 100% recyclable packaging policies, we have embarked on a collaboration with our partner SCGC to seek solutions that both meet consumer needs and address global trends. I believe that there will be better plastics and new technologies that will further reduce the production cost of eco-friendly packaging, which will positively impact consumers and the environment and ultimately benefit organizations in continuing their development to address packaging needs,” concluded Somsak.

If you are interested, please contact us for more information about SCGC GREEN POLYMER™ at greenpolymer@scg.com.