Orthex and UPM Raflatac collaborate to make household products from plastics that could otherwise end up in the ocean

Orthex Corporation, Press release 24 November 2022 at 10.00 a.m. EET

Orthex and UPM Raflatac have joined forces to offer household products and their labelling made of recycled plastic saved from ending up as marine litter. The products include buckets, wash bowls and water scoops. To achieve this, both companies are part of value chains that collect the plastic waste and transform it back into raw materials.

Orthex is part of a value chain that produces raw materials from recycled plastic by collecting old fishing nets and ropes from harbours in Scandinavia, in the UK and in Northern Europe. The collected material is sorted, cleaned, shredded, and extruded into raw material pellets, from which the Orthex’s bucket, bowl and scoop products are made. The raw material has up to 94% lower carbon emissions compared to virgin plastic.

“To produce household products from recycled materials requires a great amount of expertise and collaboration in the value chain. By collaborating with UPM Raflatac, we can have even the product labels made from recycled ocean bound plastic. This is the icing on the cake, making our products even more sustainable,” says Alexander Rosenlew, CEO of Orthex.

UPM Raflatac collaborates closely with multiple partners in the value chain to produce the Ocean Action labels. The Ocean Action label materials are the world’s first label materials made from ocean bound plastic waste. The ocean bound plastic waste is abandoned plastic waste recovered from areas up to 50km inland from shores, defined by OBPCert as “at risk of ending up in the ocean”.

At the first stage in the value chain HHI, a Malaysian-based plastic recycling company collects and sorts the ocean bound plastic waste with its partners. HHI then uses chemical recycling to convert the waste into pyrolysis oil. The pyrolysis oil is used by SABIC to create high-quality PP plastic granulates. The plastic granulates are used in the process in which the film manufacturer Taghleef Industries produces the label film that is used to produce the final label material for product labelling.

“Orthex’s products made of old fishing nets are the perfect match for our Ocean Action labels. The combination is a concrete example of how we can create new products from recycled raw materials with close collaboration and some ingenuity within the value chain,” says Eliisa Laurikainen, Business Development Manager from UPM Raflatac.

The plastic waste used in the value chain of making Ocean Action label material is certified under the Zero Plastics Oceans program, and the final label material under ISCC PLUS. The label material is produced using sustainable recycled feedstock, replacing the equivalent amount of virgin fossil resources used in the production process, using a mass balance approach accounting for the amount of sustainable resources. These verify that the Ocean Action label material is traceable and sustainably sourced.

Further enquiries
Hanna Kukkonen, CMO, Orthex Corporation
Tel. +358 (0)40 053 8886
[email protected]

Saku Uotila, Senior Specialist, Communications, UPM Raflatac
Tel. +358 (0)2041 50828
[email protected]

Orthex
Orthex is a leading Nordic houseware producer that strives to make consumers’ everyday life easier with its products that are presented under the consumer brands SmartStore™ in storage products, GastroMax™ in kitchenware and Orthex™ in home and plant care categories. Orthex aims to be the industry forerunner in sustainability. Orthex’s net sales in 2021 was 88.7 million euros and operating profit 9.3 million euros. The company has customers in more than 40 countries and local sales offices in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Orthex is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.

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UPM Raflatac

UPM Raflatac is leading in sustainable labelling through our innovative self-adhesive label materials and services. We offer high-quality paper and film label stock for branding and promotion, informational labels, and labels with functionality. We operate a global network of factories, distribution terminals and sales offices. Our company employs around 3,000 people and made sales of EUR 1.7 billion (USD 1.9 billion) in 2021. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM. Find out how we are labelling a smarter future beyond fossils at www.upmraflatac.com.

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UPM
We deliver renewable and responsible solutions and innovate for a future beyond fossils across six business areas: UPM Fibres, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Communication Papers and UPM Plywood. As the industry leader in responsibility, we are committed to the UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C and the science-based targets to mitigate climate change. We employ 17,000 people worldwide and our annual sales are approximately EUR 9.8 billion. Our shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. UPM Biofore – Beyond fossils. www.upm.com  

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