Digimarc and Wipak Partner to enhance sustainability

Digital watermarking specialist Digimarc Corporation has partnered with Wipak, a provider of flexible packaging to help retailers and global brands embrace an eco-friendly strategy to product packaging.

By combining Digimarc digital watermarks and Wipak’s printed film technology, the companies help food, medical device and pharmaceutical companies achieve sustainability and profitability goals through innovative packaging designed to advance the fight against plastic pollution.

‘Eco-friendly packaging goes beyond being environmentally conscious. It is packaging that remains functional to minimize the environmental impact,’ said Karri Koskela, Wipak's CEO. ‘Through our partnership with Digimarc, our customers not only receive packaging made from responsibly sourced materials, but they also receive packaging designed for recycling and reuse, contributing to our goal of a circular economy. Digimarc Recycle represents a revolution in the sortation and recycling of plastic waste, allowing companies to progress against ever-increasing stakeholder demands for action on sustainability while addressing regulatory requirements such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in Europe.’

Digimarc Recycle works by linking covert digital watermarks (used to identify plastic packaging to any desired level of granularity deterministically) applied to plastic packaging with an extensible cloud-based repository of product attributes, including packaging composition, food or non-food grade plastic, product variant, brand, SKU, and more.

By integrating Digimarc digital watermarks into Wipak printed films, this technology overcomes the limitations of current optical sorting technologies, significantly improving the quality and quantity of recycled materials while revealing invaluable post-purchase product journey data.

‘Fighting plastic pollution requires global collaboration. We are excited to link arms with industry leaders like Wipak to bring powerful solutions to market,’ said Digimarc president and CEO, Riley McCormack. ‘Digital watermarking is a proven and incredibly affordable solution to the plastic pollution crisis, and it is available today. If we want producers to buy recyclate instead of continuing to use virgin plastic, we must improve the quality of plastic output at recycling facilities and offer a real opportunity for closed-loop recycling. Together with Wipak, we address this need – helping global brands and manufacturers get into action with the sustainable packaging and innovative technology required to effect change.’

Just as the Universal Product Code (UPC) or European Article Number (EAN) revolutionized retail operations while generating invaluable novel purchase data, Digimarc Recycle is expected to revolutionize plastic recycling while generating invaluable novel consumption data and sustainability metrics.

Beyond automating the identification of packaging collection and sortation at material recycling facilities (MRFs), Digimarc digital watermarks also add value throughout the product lifecycle to enhance profitability.

Brands and retailers can address future challenges and meet consumer expectations with minimal additional investment. Once applied, digital watermarks support product authentication and inspection, dual-factor customer loyalty programs, next-generation retail checkout, and other enterprise applications, providing accretive value.