World Packaging Organization (WPO, www.worldpackaging.org) announced that the entries for WorldStar Packaging Awards 2014 are open and will close on September 27, 2013. Considered the most important global packaging award, the WorldStar is based on the judges’ consensus that a pack is superior in its own right and better in its class, in execution, or innovation by comparison. The judges consider the following criteria: protection and preservation of contents; ease of handling, filling, opening and closing; adequacy of information; sales appeal; graphic design; quality of production; economy of material and cost reduction; environment; ingenuity of construction; and adaption to local conditions (production, materials, market etc).

Winners of a Worldstar are also eligible to participate in three special categories: Sustainable Packaging Award, Marketing Award and President´s Award. According to Thomas Schneider, President of WPO, the award “illustrates the continuous advancement of the state of packaging and creates a continuously evolving standard of international packaging excellence from which others may learn.”

WorldStar Awards are presented only for packages that have already won recognition in a peer-reviewed competition in 2012 or 2013, normally organized by a regional or national association. Membership in WPO is not required but prior approval of the competition by WPO is necessary. Details about how to qualify competitions to enter can be found at www.worldstar.org.

The entry fee is €650 for the first entry; the fee for any additional packs is €500 each. The judging process of WorldStar Packaging Awards 2014 will be held in November 4, 2013, in Barcelona (Spain), during the second annual WPO Board meeting. “The expert panel of judges will compare all the projects and will select the ones that show to be superior in their category and market,” adds Schneider. The 2014 WorldStar Awards ceremony will be held in May 2014, during Interpack, in Düsseldorf (Germany).