The packaging and luxury packaging industries will come together at London’s premier industry event at a time when pressure has piqued for the industry to become more sustainable and combat waste.

The two-day event is once again searching for the most sustainable packaging solutions to take part in its highly anticipated Ecopack Challenge, which will run in collaboration with Marks & Spencer.

The competition offers companies that are creating innovative and environmentally responsible products the chance to develop an idea with Marks & Spencer, as well as being crowned Ecopack Challenge champions. Entry to the challenge is open to anyone, not only companies exhibiting at the show, as it searches for truly sustainable innovations. The deadline for all Ecopack Challenge entries is Monday 26th August and entrants can put their innovations forward by filling out the online application form.

The Dragons’ Den style session will see six shortlisted companies demonstrate why they should be voted best in show by the expert industry panel and the audience, alongside the OPRL PREP tool.

OPRL’s PREP UK tool (the Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal) uniquely gives both actionable advice on packaging designs, of any material, and provides an ISO14021 compliant basis for self-evaluated green claims. PREP UK assesses whether consumers can readily recycle it using WRAP's LARSU data, and how it will be sorted and recovered at UK MRFs and reprocessors using data researched for OPRL by Axion Consulting. It also checks whether design details such as colour, inks, seals and separability affect the value of the recyclate.

At Packaging Innovations NEC earlier this year there was strong competition between the six finalists. Crowned the overall the winner was Flexi-Hex, founded by two Cornish entrepreneurs who showcased their recyclable and biodegradable packaging sleeves. With its patented design and distinctive honeycomb structure, the product was created by brothers Will and Sam Boex who recognised the impact that single-use plastic was having on the marine environment.

Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London 2019 takes place at the Olympia, London on the 11 & 12 September. For any further information, contact the show team on +44 (0)20 8843 8800 or [email protected].