Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Eco Mark certification by Japanese Consumers' Cooperative Union (JCCU) for their 10 products that use DNP plant-based plastic film for individual packaging, including coffee bags, in the Plastic Containers and Packaging Using Plant-Based Plastics category.
The new Eco Mark certification standard was added to the Refill Containers and Resource Saving Containers category in June 2016. JCCU will display the Eco Mark on products using eco-friendly DNP plant-derived plastic film, and plans to commence sales from September 2017.

Photo courtesy of JCCU

[Plant-Derived Plastic Film Series]

• Through the partial use of plant-derived raw materials, such as blackstrap molasses, a by-product of the production of sugar from sugar cane, and corn, it becomes possible to reduce the use of petro-derived materials. It was also found that as plants take in CO2 from the air during the growth process, compared to petro-derived plastic film, it is also possible to reduce greenhouse gas throughout the product lifecycle. And the CO2 generated when incinerating this biomass plastic can also be deducted from domestic CO2 emission volumes. 
  
• The new film maintains similar processing and design properties as currently available petro-derived plastic film, making it easy to switch out of existing products.
  
• In 2016, sales promotional packaging samples based on the polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films in this series acquired Eco Mark certification. DNP will provide corporate clients that have adopted the plant-derived plastic film with the necessary information for acquiring Eco Mark certification for packaging used in in-house products.

[Eco Mark]

The Eco Mark is an environmental label applied to those products and services that fulfill the criteria of contributing to environmental conservation, with lower environmental burdens throughout their lifecycle, from raw materials procurement through production to disposal. Displaying the Eco Mark helps producers market their products to consumers as a highly environmentally-friendly company.

[Looking Ahead]

DNP aims for sales of 3.0 billion yen in FY2017 from the plant-derived packaging materials series.
The Company will engage with social challenges, including the prevention of global warming and bio-diverse conservation through the development of products and services with low environmental burdens that consumers can use with a sense of security, and will continue to contribute to the creation of a sustainable society.

* The Eco Mark is a registered trademark of the Japan Environmental Association.
* Product prices, specification and service contents mentioned in this news release are current as of the date of publication. They may be changed at any time without notice.