UK - Brand owners are announcing plans to make use of the seasonal packaging for their leading UK confectionary brands to cut down packaging waste and educate consumers on environmental sustainability.

With Christmas less than three months, brand owners such as Mars and Nestle have announced their seasonal green initiatives as they attempt to balance their marketing efforts to entice consumers and environmental responsibility.

Emphasizing on cutting packaging waste, some of the seasonal green initiatives by confectionery brand owners for this Christmas include encouraging reuse of some of its assortment packaging through providing washable dishwasher proof containers, recycling messages and using less overall materials.

Brand owners say that their promotion of sustainability does not compromise their attention to the functional purposes of packaging – protection and preservation. They also added that these green initiatives are not just confined to the festive period, but reflect an all-year-round environment drive.

Confectionery brand owner Mars explained, “Seasonal products are often over packaged and so require extra focus to minimise the packaging used as well as communicating to consumers they can recycle the packaging used.

 “These initiatives are part of a long term sustainability programme, looking at how to reduce the amount of packaging we use, whilst still protecting the product and satisfying consumer needs for a gifting proposition,” stated a Mars spokesperson.

Some of the product types which Mars is paying particular attention to in their green initiative are gift box chocolates, selection packs and advent calendars.

Another major brand owner, Nestle, is manufacturing its product seasonal offerings using recycled materials.

“All Nestle Confectionery’s selection boxes are now made from recycled board and the plastic trays are made from recycled bottles,” said Graham Walker, trade communications manager for Nestle UK.

“In total there will be 231 tonnes less packaging in 2008 and there will also be on-pack messages to encourage kids to recycle.”

WRAP’s Seasonal Confectionery Industry Working Group

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a UK government-back environment initiative, is focusing on industry cooperation through its Seasonal Confectionery Industry Working Group.

Mars and Nestle, as well as Cadbury and Magna, are just some of the companies involved in this Working Group to find a better balance between meeting consumer demand of the seasonal packaging used for festivals such as Christmas and Easter and addressing environmental concerns - intensified with retailer pressure for brand owners to cut down on packaging.

Mark Barthel, a special advisor for WRAP, said, “ “Major players in the seasonal confectionery industry have signed up to this group. By joining, they are ensuring that issues relating to packaging are taken into account and that consumer appeal is retained.”

WRAP is also encouraging both retailers and brand owners to sign up with the voluntary Courtauld Commitment, which targets household packaging and food waste reductions 12 months a year. WRAP claims that so far, a number of its targets for the focus, including reversing packaging waste growth by this year, providing innovative new packaging formats and providing absolute reductions in left over packs by March 2010, are already on schedule.