Packaging Alternative / TIPA Solutions Interview

Collection: Sea Change

Withering Heights: Fashion’s 1.8m Polybag Problem and TIPA’s Compostable Solution

The number of polybags produced annually to store, transport and protect apparel and footwear stands at a staggering 180 billion. Fashion has a packaging problem too, and providing a sustainable solution is TIPA Corp with its compostable alternative. Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daphna Nissenbaum talks about fashion’s problems and TIPA's innovative solutions.

Subir Ghosh

29 October 2024

7 minutes

Long Story, Cut Short

Policies that support the development and adoption of products and materials suitable for single-stream waste systems can significantly impact the effectiveness of recycling and composting programmes.
Fashion brands would be smart to diversify their packaging now as a way to navigate quickly evolving policies with agility.
Industry collaboration is essential to standardise packaging materials and design practices and to ensure that new innovations are compatible with existing waste management infrastructure.

TIPA’s patent-protected formulae are made from a blend of fully compostable polymers, and are what give TIPA films and laminates similar properties to conventional plastic. Because of this, the product demonstrates excellent optical, mechanical, and barrier properties such as high transparency, printability, high sealing strength, high impact, and high barrier.

Totally Compostable TIPA’s patent-protected formulae are made from a blend of fully compostable polymers, and are what give TIPA films and laminates similar properties to conventional plastic. Because of this, the product demonstrates excellent optical, mechanical, and barrier properties such as high transparency, printability, high sealing strength, high impact, and high barrier. TIPA Ltd

texfash: Fashion has a waste problem. There's pre- and post-consumer waste on one hand, and packaging waste on the other. It has taken years for the industry to even acknowledge the former, leave alone do something about it. Do you think the fashion industry is still in denial about the packaging waste it creates?
Daphna Nissenbaum: Yes definitely. The industry has done little to decrease the staggering amount of waste it produces since the problem was first highlighted. While there are trailblazers like Gabriela Hearst and Stella McCartney, the industry at large is still heavily dependent on plastic packaging throughout every process and stage in a garment’s lifecycle. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the plastic packaging on which the fashion industry is largely reliant is estimated to make up 26% of the total volume of plastics created each year. These are staggering and worrying numbers, particularly as e-commerce and consumerism are only slated to grow further. Without doubt, the fashion industry is one of the top industries primed to reconcile its wasteful packaging footprint and take charge in adapting to more eco-friendly and circular packaging strategies.

So, whose responsibility is it? Is it the responsibility of the retailer/ecomm seller, or is it that of the brand/manufacturer? Then, again, a fashion product itself comes with its own packaging even before it makes it to a store or a portal. Your comments, please.
Daphna Nissenbaum: The fashion industry as a whole has a plastic addiction. Real change comes when consumer demand for sustainability increases. Legislative or governmental incentives for sustainability are another driver of change, as well as large players in the industry standing up and beginning to overhaul processes that were once completely dependent on plastic. The way I see it, the responsibility lies within all players across the lifecycle of a garment—from manufacturing, shipping, distribution, retailers, and consumers. Looking at the industry as a whole, however, single-use plastic packaging is a common thread woven throughout. Reducing the wasteful reliance on traditional plastic packaging would affect the entire fashion industry.

Then again, when it is talk about fashion's packaging issue, it's mostly about the end product. The debate disregards any kind of packaging used earlier in the chain: from raw materials to yarn to fabrics. How do you think the entire thing can be looked at holistically? Is it even feasible?
Daphna Nissenbaum: Ensuring circularity and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) throughout the lifecycle of a garment is key here. I would say that the key is to break down the problem into separate components like materials manufacturing, shipping, packaging and retail, and then work backwards to see where the industry can make overhauls to ensure that waste is reduced. Take packaging for example, if the industry adopted a circular approach, the manufacturer would package finished garments in materials that can ultimately be repurposed like compostable plastic bags or reusable metal/wooden boxes. These would then be shipped to brands who would then package garments in their own eco-friendly packaging like TIPA’s which, once placed in a home or industrial compost facility, will break down into nutrient-rich soil.

Another eco-conscious approach the industry can take is shifting focus to localised production. At TIPA, we have a fabless model, where our materials can be used in any standard plastics machinery across continents like America, Australia, and Europe. This strategy ensures that the products are manufactured as close to the area of distribution as possible, saving shipping distances and ultimately reducing the carbon footprint of shipping.

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Eco Alternative Compostable alternatives to conventional plastic packaging help designers and fashion houses reinforce sustainability ethos throughout their supply chain and ensure that your carefully manufactured clothing makes it to its destination safely and sustainably, with exceptional brand impact. TIPA Ltd

What would be an ideal/best/feasible solution for the end consumer? Give it back to the delivery person, send it back somehow to the store/ecomm seller, or maybe even the brand or manufacturer? That would look like utter chaos. Comments?
Daphna Nissenbaum: Currently, there are many large multinational companies like The North Face and Patagonia as well as brands partnered with TIPA such as Rhythms By Design and Wave Progress who have successfully employed tenants of circularity into their business practices. This includes sourcing 100% natural fabrics for garments, using compostable or reusable packaging, and developing consumer-friendly post-consumption collection initiatives where consumers can send unwanted items back for reuse, recycling, or composting. Scaling these operations is the next big step to see widespread adoption of responsible disposal of textiles, and the packaging it comes in. And there is movement here too.

In December 2023, the European Council agreed on a general approach to packaging and packaging waste in the EU. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive considers the entire packaging life cycle and ensures that all packaging is safe, sustainable, and at least recyclable. This ‘bottom-up’ approach where the producers of plastic packaging will become fully responsible for its production and disposal means that the packaging industry for fashion will have to make big changes thereby requiring consumers to properly dispose of the packaging they receive.

Packaging is considerably about branding as well. There's the brand's own branding, as well as that of the retailer. Isn't that a big problem in itself?
Daphna Nissenbaum: Not necessarily. There can be a lot of considerations when dealing with brands and retailers. At TIPA we are happy to help consult on such issues and ultimately our materials are suitable for any custom printing or branding that's desired. In our experience, there are typically precedents for large retailers in terms of branded packaging.

Packaging is quite a mix in itself: from glue and tapes to staples and bubble wraps and what not. Do you think far too much has been going into packaging? In which way is packaging technology headed on this count?
Daphna Nissenbaum: Streamlining any product into its base components would greatly simplify its design and manufacturing. However, when it comes to packaging a product, its manufacturer or brand may require a certain amount of nuance in order to protect the product itself from moisture or breakage, or in order to keep with brand identity. At TIPA, we are constantly trying to innovate the different parts of a package so that they are also compostable and can be disposed of responsibly. Most recently we partnered with Freshlock to produce the industry’s first 100% certified compostable zippered closures for flexible packaging. This innovation can be used for both fashion and food. The industry is ripe for more innovation like this and the technology is already there.

Daphna Nissenbaum

CEO & Co-Founder

TIPA Ltd

The way I see it, the responsibility lies within all players across the lifecycle of a garment—from manufacturing, shipping, distribution, retailers, and consumers. Looking at the industry as a whole, however, single-use plastic packaging is a common thread woven throughout. Reducing the wasteful reliance on traditional plastic packaging would affect the entire fashion industry.

Europe seems to be a good testing ground for what can or may not work, in the light of the forthcoming EU laws and regulations. Do you think fashion companies would be forced to look at the associated waste of packaging too besides textile waste?
Daphna Nissenbaum: Yes definitely. The European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations will affect industry players across a wide spectrum and will include e-commerce, retail, and all imported packaging. This means that fashion producers, manufacturers, and importers will all be responsible for the type of packaging they use and its disposal.

Creating a cohesive approach to waste management requires collaboration between policymakers, industry leaders, and waste management entities. Policies that support the development and adoption of products and materials suitable for single-stream waste systems can significantly impact the effectiveness of recycling and composting programmes. Industry collaboration is essential to standardize packaging materials and design practices and to ensure that new innovations are compatible with existing waste management infrastructure. Fashion brands would be smart to diversify their packaging now as a way to navigate quickly evolving policies with agility.

TIPA was founded in 2010. What was the fashion landscape like when you started? In the beginning, it would have been just an idea. Did you find easy takers of your idea? As far as the fashion industry is concerned, TIPA burst to the scene when selected as a Fashion for Good innovator in 2017. Please tell us what happened between 2010 and 2017.
Daphna Nissenbaum: Following TIPA's establishment in 2010, the company saw significant interest from dozens of early adopters and attracted partnerships with global brands, helping the company expand into international markets and establish a presence in industries such as fashion and food packaging.

By 2017, the company had grown rapidly due to increasing consumer demand for eco-friendly products and heightened awareness of plastic pollution. In 2017, our collaboration with luxury fashion brand Stella McCartney was a catalyst for further solidifying our presence in the industry. To date, we have worked with dozens of fashion brands.

What has happened after 2017. How much have you been able to scale up? Could you share numbers about production, facilities and turnover?
Daphna Nissenbaum: In 2017, we secured $11 million for Series B funding and then for Series C in 2022, we raised $70 million. Since 2017, we have established TIPA offices in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France and Italy. We have over 50 employees across the globe. In 2023, we acquired Bio4Pak, a German compostable packaging company and also partnered with some of the largest packaging converters in North America - Charter Next Generation (CNG), PPC Flexible Packaging and Clearview Packaging.

At the core of TIPA is material science. In what stage, would you say, your technology is in right now? How focused on R&D are you right now, in terms of refining/developing your bioplastic technology?
Daphna Nissenbaum: Our R&D is in advanced maturity building off 10 years at the forefront of the market. That being said, we’re constantly pushing to innovate new compostable polymers and applying state-of-the-art tools to meet these ends. TIPA is unique because we have our very own in-house R&D lab with a dedicated team of chemists and materials scientists.

As a result, we are able to respond to a client’s request and produce a unique compostable plastic polymer which can be made into packaging that fits their specific products’ needs. Additionally, our R&D team is constantly seeking ways to use a higher percentage of bio-based materials, but never at the expense of a compostable end-of-life. Ultimately, all of our products decompose and biodegrade into fertile topsoil when disposed of in-home or industrial composters due to their ability to disintegrate into small renewable pieces that are naturally and safely ingested by microorganisms.

TIPA’s eco fashion packaging accommodates a diverse range of fully biodegradable packaging applications for fashion and clothing, including an eco-friendly packaging alternative to conventional polybags for apparel, accessories, jewellery, and more. TIPA Ltd

Subir Ghosh

SUBIR GHOSH is a Kolkata-based independent journalist-writer-researcher who writes about environment, corruption, crony capitalism, conflict, wildlife, and cinema. He is the author of two books, and has co-authored two more with others. He writes, edits, reports and designs. He is also a professionally trained and qualified photographer.

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