VMA ESTABLISHES NEW LABELS AND PACKAGING INDUSTRY COALITION

The Visual Media Association (VMA) has formed the Labels and Packaging Coalition, a new initiative to provide print industry technical expertise into government policy, targets and regulations.

The Labels & Packaging Coalition will address industry feedback and offer expert advice on drafted policies and potential legislative recommendations at both federal and state levels.

Comprising members from various sectors of the labels and packaging industry, the coalition welcomes close collaboration with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (Apco), the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), brand owners, and key stakeholders.

Its mission is to provide technical expertise and scientific evidence from independent laboratory results, to support the informed implementation of regulations affecting labels and packaging manufacturing in Australia.

Kellie Northwood, CEO, Visual Media Association, outlined the role industry must play as both educators and technical advisors to government, end-users and each level in between those two.

"The VMA and its members are committed to advancing sustainable labels and packaging solutions. However, some recent recommendations, such as the shift from water-based to soy-based inks, may be based on misconceptions that could have unintended negative environmental impacts. Improving recovery rates are terrific, however we do not want to see repeats of recovered packaging sitting in warehouses with no recycling waste stream solution."

“We also need to understand the criteria for labels and packaging assessments, as the current assessment tools for labels and packaging design do not always align with science,” commented Northwood.

Industry leaders have lobbied the VMA to unify the industry position and challenge the misrepresentation across the Apco Prep tool, which prioritises the kerbside recyclability of packaging which includes labels.

The Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal (Prep) tool is an online tool that assesses packaging specifications, to determine how a piece of packaging will perform in the Australian and New Zealand resource recovery systems. 

Currently, the industry claims there are errors in the technical advisory across the Prep tool, and the Labels & Packaging Coalition has committed to providing technical advice across all products, finishes and print manufacturing processes for Apco and the Government.

Northwood said, “The generalisation of terms like ‘aqueous’ needs closer scrutiny. It is our responsibility as an industry association to offer precise technical advice to Apco and government departments. Our members have local and global expertise in these areas, and it makes sense to include them in the decision-making process – thus the formation of the Labels and Packaging Coalition.”

“Collaborating with Apco, government ministers, and key stakeholders is crucial to ensuring that policies and legislation are accurate and effective. We call on all members and non-members in this sector to join us in this important initiative,” said Northwood.

The Labels & Packaging Coalition follows the Mail Industry Coalition, which VMA created with the leading print and mail houses, and which has just successfully lobbied Australia Post to reverse its decision to suspend all Unaddressed Mail in the run-up to Christmas.