26 February 2024: Sustainability seen as the protection of our planet is now a concrete necessity, perceived by all. Individuals and companies have now come to realize that we need to move from making grand announcements to action. Brands are choosing to dress in “green” from production to communication. Hence the need for the visual communication supply chain to become increasingly eco-sustainable, from the technologies, right through to the inks and to the materials chosen for different applications.
“While in the collective imagination there are many who see plastic among the main culprits of the pollution of our planet, as experts in this polymer, we believe we must make a valid contribution to the process of acculturation involving all those who participate in visual communication, right up to the end customers,” says president Edoardo Elmi.
According to Guandong, the upside of the criticism of plastics is that it helps drive the optimization of production processes and of recovery and recycling. An example of this is the company’s Research & Development department which, for several years, has been working on the development of eco-sustainable printing media, the most significant results of which will be revealed at Fespa 2024. Indeed, during the Amsterdam event, Guandong, the Specialty Specialist, will present an absolute preview of new supplies in response to the need to respect the environment from the production process through to waste disposal. “This is not just an announcement. At our stand, visitors will be able to walk along the ‘Green Promenade’, experiencing new concrete and tangible solutions. A path devoted to interior decoration with many innovative proposals presented in a real showroom.”
“The enemy of the environment is not plastic, but the way it is produced and disposed of,” adds Edoardo Elmi, specifying that it can be reused countless times, simply by heating it up to the visco-elasticity temperature in order to rework it into the desired shapes, as in the case of numerous supplies in the Guandong range, which are made with high percentages of recycled and regenerated plastic. In addition, it’s worth mentioning that at the end of the cycle, plastic is transformed into an excellent fuel: it is, in fact, used for the production of pellets that can be used to feed incinerator furnaces, thus reducing the use of diesel.
So plastic, according to Guandong, offers countless opportunities. “It’s an issue that must also be discussed in our sector, with the aim of developing a better collective awareness,” Elmi explains. “While it is true, in fact, that in the world of visual communication we can no longer expect great revolutions, today more than ever it is the trends of the moment that make the difference, supported by manufacturers, such as Guandong, working towards sustainable and ethical change”.
Fespa will be an opportunity to present the latest innovations under the GreenLife brand, which has represented Guandong’s commitment to sustainability since 2010. “We are constantly developing new printing media that are increasingly recyclable and environmentally friendly, preferring materials such as PET and PP from recycled raw materials, all of which comply with RoHS, EN71-3 and REACH regulations,” adds Fabio Elmi, Research and Development Director at Guandong. A commitment that does not only concern the production and life cycle of the products, but which involves the entire company through virtuous behaviours aimed at reducing the environmental impact of each process.
