Navico Group, the world’s leading supplier of integrated systems and products to industries ranging from marine to recreational vehicles and beyond, is using Aquapak’s revolutionary Hydropol bags to protect its marine electronics during shipping.
To help reduce plastic packaging waste and prevent pollution, Aquapak, which specialises in developing high performance, environmentally safe materials that can do the job of conventional flexible plastics, and improve recycling efficiency, has developed Hydropol, a unique new polymer which is water soluble and non-toxic to marine life. Hydropol is dissolvable and biodegradable and breaks down harmlessly in all existing recycling streams. If it does escape into the environment, it biodegrades completely, leaving nothing behind (i.e. no harmful microplastics).
Hydropol can then be processed on existing packaging machinery at scale to produce a versatile barrier film layer that can be combined with paper and other bio-plastics or simply turned into strong, durable, puncture-resistant, anti-static bags.
Thanks to these unique properties, Navico Group has chosen to use Hydropol bags as part of its commitment to protecting the natural environment and ensuring its supply chain and end of life is as sustainable as possible.
The ‘leave no trace’ bags used by Navico Group are a great alternative for brands looking to move away from traditional plastic polybags (like LDPE). Although these are ‘recyclable’ or made from recycled materials, they often end up being incinerated or sent to landfill and crucially will not break down easily if they’re accidentally released into the environment.
Hydropol garment bags have also been used for many years by leading brands in the fashion industry including BCorp and sustainability pioneers Finisterre and more recently NBrown Group, one of the UK’s largest online fashion retailers.
Mark Lapping, Chief Executive Officer, Aquapak, said: “Hydropol is perfect for a business like Navico Group which operates in the highly sensitive marine environment. It can be used as an alternative to conventional plastic as it provides the same functionality and performance but without harming the environment.”
Jeremiah Clark, VP Product Management, Navico Group, said: “Our commitment to sustainability and protecting the natural environment is a high priority for Navico Group. We’re continually exploring innovative solutions to reduce our environmental footprint. That’s why we’ve chosen to use Hydropol bags, a sustainable alternative that is non-toxic to marine life and does not generate harmful microplastics.