Mondi’s four-year effort with German cleaning products maker Werner & Mertz GmbH to develop a fully recyclable, flexible, stand-up pouch for W&M’s Frosch-brand laundry detergent is paying dividends. The project applied Cradle to Cradle (C2C) principles to assess every aspect of the product, from design to optimal end-of-life options, to close the packaging loop.

The resulting product, called StripPouch, recently earned certification from two independent bodies for being 100% recyclable, and has been honored with several industry awards. The product’s first commercial application of Werner & Mertz’s Frosch-brand liquid detergents, is anticipated to be on store shelves by the end of this year.

”Werner & Mertz gave us a challenge to come up with a fully recyclable packaging solution. We embraced this and by applying our EcoSolutions approach, we have both met the challenge and been recognized for our industry effort. Now, applying the knowledge gained from developing StripPouch, others also stand to benefit from Mondi’s approach to being sustainable by design,” said Jens Kösters, manager of technical services for Mondi Consumer Goods Packaging.

The two independent bodies who have certified that the pouch is 100% recyclable are: The institut cyclos-HTP (the Institute for Recyclability and Product Responsibility), and Cologne-based environmental services company Interseroh, with the StripPouch being deemed to be a “fully optimized sustainable design.”