Recession Hits Green Packaging

27 Aug, 2010 By: Chris Tribbey

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It wasn’t that long ago that “going green” was a giant priority for the home entertainment industry.

In 2007 Walmart launched a pilot program to cut emissions in certain categories. As a result DVD suppliers eliminated more than 28,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas in 2009, according to a company spokesperson.

In 2008 DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy held a Green Media Summit for the industry to share green efforts.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have been using DVD cases that use 20% less plastic. In April the Motion Picture Association of America praised every major studio for reducing its carbon footprint, specifically Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment for efforts in reducing plastic and “virgin” paper products in disc releases.

But when it comes to disc packaging, home entertainment has hit a crossroads on being green.

“Initially there was a big demand for eco-friendly packaging,” said Paula Tait, EVP of sales and marketing for duplication and packaging company Precise/Full Service Media. “But when they priced traditional packaging [at less than] eco-friendly packaging, traditional won out because of price. The demand for eco-friendly packaging has subsided substantially.”

Even when the difference between a “green” DVD case and one with more plastic is just a few pennies, that adds up quickly with units in the five and six digits.

Tait said that the desire for true eco-friendly packaging has become a “genre driven” business, with content owners often seeking to release documentaries or fitness titles in the more expensive green packaging.

“In a perfect world, every package would be eco-friendly,” she said. “But with margins continuing to shrink, price wins out.”

David Beschen, president of disc and packaging recycling company GreenDisk, said it’s no surprise content owners are looking at their bottom lines instead.

“In a tough market it’s tough to get people to do sustainable things,” he said, noting that some distributors are cutting back in other ways, including not using security tape for DVDs and Blu-rays.

However, Shelli Kaiser, director of marketing and business development for DVD packaging company Pack Appeal, which specializes in eco-friendly packaging, said manufacturers took weight out of plastic cases years ago.

“Are there other green packaging alternatives that could be explored? Of course,” she said. “But I’d say that issue is dead.”

Daniel Lax, VP of business development for disc case company Clear-Vu/Nexpak, which counts Netflix and Blockbuster among its customers, said green is still important, but his company has also noted a drop in interest.

“We’ve done what we can, but not everybody wants to share the expense involved,” he said. “We try to promote it whenever it’s important.”

His company’s new line of Amigo paperboard packaging has plastic as only 5% of its weight.

“Everyone is looking to go greener, so long as it conforms to existing duplication, and it doesn’t increase the price,” Lax said.

Dyan Spigner, VP of home entertainment sales for Shorewood Packaging, said that besides cost, another reason for the retreat from green packaging is that it complicates replication.

“Automation at the disc replicators does not exist for all board packaging,” she said. “Most automation surrounds the plastic Amaray and the plastic jewel case. There are machines that can auto load discs into a paperboard digipak with plastic trays, but there is not enough equipment to support the volume needed and those machines are very expensive.”

She added that jobs using all-green packaging materials take longer as well.

“Some of the stocks that the industry was investigating carried long lead times and did not work well within the current model of ordering materials,” she said.

Still, David Fenkel, co-founder of Oscilloscope Laboratories, said consumers notice eco-friendly packaging, and his company is willing to take on the extra expense.

“We’re committed to it,” he said. “All of our DVD releases are presented in an eight-panel wallet with a slipcase on 80% [Forest Stewardship Council] certified post-consumer waste paper. It’s the most eco-friendly paper we could find. The high level of recyclables is important to us because we know we’re supporting the right companies and products while providing a great film package to our customers.”

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