Sonoco Produces Plant-Based Plastic Blow-Molded Bottles for Ecover Green Cleaning Line in North America

HARTSVILLE, S.C., Dec. 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest diversified packaging companies, is producing plant-based plastic bottles for Ecover's new home care line. After joining forces with Method in 2012 to become the world's largest green cleaning company, Ecover® has launched its popular green brand in North America with a fresh new look in celebration of the company's 35th birthday, while maintaining a focus on sustainability, efficacy and best-practice manufacturing.

"As a leader in the green cleaning space, Ecover sought a packaging partner who could collaborate on sustainable packaging solutions and meet an aggressive commercialization timeline," said Andrew Moreno, procurement director, Ecover North America. "We also required responsive service and a near-site manufacturing facility to minimize lead times and environmental impact. Sonoco has the ability to provide all of this and perfectly meet our needs. We feel this new line of packaging will help Ecover reach more consumers while continuing to be deeply rooted in nature-based science."

Ecover's new look hit store shelves across the U.S. in August 2014 in Sonoco's extrusion blow-molded bottles made from Plantplastic, Ecover's proprietary blend of bio-sourced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin. The bio-resin, which is produced using plant-based feedstock and recycled resin collected from municipal curbside programs across the U.S., uses up to 90% less energy and emits 75% less greenhouse gases compared to petroleum-based virgin resin, and is recyclable in most curbside recycling programs.

"Sonoco is proud to partner with Ecover to become the brand's HDPE bottle provider in North America, collaborating to produce a fresh new line of bottles," said Jeff DiPasquale, vice president, Sonoco Blow Molding. "Our material and technical expertise, responsiveness, and customer focus created a perfect match between Sonoco and Ecover."

View the new Ecover packages here.

About Ecover:

Ecover (www.ecover.com) was founded in Belgium in 1980, long before words like 'sustainability' and 'eco-friendly' were being used, by a team of highly motivated eco-pioneers who had enough proof to show that phosphates, a common ingredient used in laundry and dishwater products, were polluting our water systems. They cared so much that they wanted to create a phosphate-free washing powder. It was a real success that soon found its way to health food stores across Europe. Ecover now has 35 different products distributed in 40 countries.

About Sonoco:

Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized combined sales of approximately $5.4 billion, the Company has more than 21,000 employees working in more than 340 operations in 34 countries, serving some of the world's best known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the 2014/2015 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the Company, visit our website at www.sonoco.com.

CONTACT: Brett Turner
         +843-383-7794
         [email protected]

Source: Sonoco Products Company

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