Sway and EcoEnclose Co-Launch the First Seaweed-Windowed Retail Box
Posted on Jan 22nd 2024
Empowering CPG Brands to Adopt Biobased Materials
In this groundbreaking retail box design, traditional plastic windows are swapped out for Sway’s certified 100% Biobased seaweed windows – available to the public for the first time ever.
BOULDER, CO — Leading sustainable packaging supplier EcoEnclose has teamed up with next-generation materials company Sway to develop and launch the world’s first seaweed-windowed retail box. Curbside recyclable, fossil-free, and highly customizable, this retail box reimagines the impact brands can enable through their packaging choices.
From food to beauty to home essentials and beyond, packaging is commonly paired with plastic windows to protect goods and provide a preview of what’s inside. This tactic helps increase customer trust and enhance the perceived value of a product, leading to boosted sales and an improved brand image. While highly useful in overall packaging strategies, plastic windows are virtually impossible to recycle and cannot be easily replaced with reusable solutions. Plastic windows also represent a significant portion of globally used flexible films, a market valued at $65.85 billion in 2023.
Clear, durable, and food safe, Sway seaweed windows offer an easy swap for traditional plastic windows, while being certified 100% Biobased. Sway windows are derived primarily from seaweed, an abundant ocean crop that restores ecosystems as it grows. Seaweed cultivation can boost marine biodiversity, mitigate ocean acidity, and support coastal communities threatened by climate change and overfishing. New science even suggests seaweed can store substantial amounts of carbon. After use, Sway windows won’t pollute; instead, they decompose rapidly and naturally in home or industrial compost.
“EcoEnclose has been intentionally skeptical of biomaterials touted as silver bullet solutions, but extensive research has proven seaweed’s incredible potential as a renewable input for virgin materials,” says Saloni Doshi, EcoEnclose CEO. "EcoEnclose is honored to bridge the gap between Sway’s planet-replenishing materials and our large market of environmentally-minded brands eager to adopt circular packaging solutions.”
Marking the first time Sway products are available in stock offerings to the public, the Sway x EcoEnclose Retail Box with Seaweed Window collection is designed to package a wide range of items, such as home goods like mugs or candles, or food with a limited shelf life, like grains or pasta. Available for purchase online in two stock sizes, these boxes can also be customized in form factor and visual style. After use, the entire box is recyclable, or, for maximum impact, the Sway window can be removed and composted. These instructions are viewable through a QR code printed on the back of every box.
“Our vision is a world where innovative materials are at the forefront. Collaborating with industry leaders like EcoEnclose helps Sway seaweed packaging come into the mainstream more quickly, catalyzing our path towards a waste-free world,” says Julia Marsh, CEO & Co-Founder of Sway. “This box collaboration is only the first of many to come!”
To learn more about Sway x EcoEnclose Retail Box with Seaweed Windows, visit https://www.ecoenclose.com/shop/seaweed-retail-boxes.
ABOUT SWAY
Sway is a California cleantech startup scaling seaweed-based, home compostable replacements for plastic. Their products match the vital performance attributes of conventional plastics and are designed to plug into existing infrastructure, enabling scale and competitive pricing. Unlike plastic, however, Sway materials are made from an abundant, regenerative resource and decompose into healthy soil after use. In 2023, Sway won 1st place in the TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize, and continues to actively expand the production of their seaweed-based packaging solutions across industries ranging from fashion to food to home goods and beyond. Learn more at swaythefuture.com.
ABOUT ECOENCLOSE
EcoEnclose is the leading innovator and provider of sustainable packaging. Focused on materials circularity and catalyzing regenerative inputs, EcoEnclose creates packaging solutions from recycled materials, waste streams, and innovative inputs - bolstering the circular economy and reducing the impact of packaging on our world’s natural resources. EcoEnclose helps brands of all sizes be proud of how they ship. Learn more at ecoenclose.com.
Product images can be found here.
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