Better Packaging is excited to be supplying our groundbreaking POLLAST!C Poly Bags made from 100% recycled Ocean Bound Plastic direct to Vietnamese apparel manufacturers. American and Australasian brands partnering with Vietnamese manufacturers will now be easily able to use POLLAST!C Poly bags to protect their garments from point of manufacture via Better Packaging’s proprietary ‘Direct to Manufacturer’ service.

Clothing manufacturers have traditionally sourced poly bags themselves. These are clear garment bags usually made from brand new virgin plastic. Our POLLAST!C Poly bags by contrast are a far more sustainable alternative made from certified recycled Ocean Bound Plastic pollution with an extremely low carbon footprint. This innovative POLLAST!C Project rescues plastic waste from coastal communities throughout Southeast Asia (where most ocean plastic originates) and recycles it into poly bags, mailing satchels and even pallet wrap. Thus cleaning up the environment and helping to prevent the ocean plastic crisis from worsening.

For several years, Better Packaging has provided garment manufacturers in China with the same service - the ability to purchase POLLAST!C Poly Bags from us directly. It is a model utilised by brands such as PE Nation, Cue and Veronica Maine, Bisley Workwear and many more to ensure that the footprint of their supply chain is minimised.

Now, as Vietnam is becoming increasingly attractive as a manufacturing location for clothing brands we are bringing our ‘Direct to Manufacturer’ service to Vietnam.

New Zealand Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon says of the initiative, “New Zealand company Better Packaging’s POLLAST!C Project is a fantastic example of the kind of innovation the world needs. New Zealand companies are at the forefront solving large-scale environmental problems, while also furthering cooperation with international partners.”

UN Environment Program (UNEP) found that by 2040, global plastic pollution could be reduced by a whopping 80% if companies were to implement a series of practical and affordable changes like increasing reuse of virgin plastics.

Better Packaging Co. focuses its plastic collection efforts in Indonesia and other equatorial regions that are subject to monsoonal rains. These regions are home to the world’s most polluting river systems, termed ‘plastic superhighways’ for their ability to transfer waste into the ocean quickly and easily.

Better Packaging’s co-founder, Rebecca Percasky says that poly bags are an ideal application for high Post Consumer Recycled content as they do not have to be food grade or perfectly clear, and that all recycled material inputs are traceable under the product’s two key certifications; Global Recycled Standard and Ocean Bound Plastic Certification.

Percasky explains, “Until now, getting apparel manufacturers to use anything except virgin plastic poly bags has been very difficult. POLLAST!C combined with our technology and partnerships in Viet Nam means that we can now offer brands a simple way to ‘do the Better thing’ and make their supply chain more sustainable.”

The Poly Bag Problem

Transparent poly bags are ubiquitous in the apparel industry and for good reason. Polybags serve an important purpose protecting the clothing inside. As Patagonia has previously stated, “If we eliminated the use of polybags, garments would be damaged... A damaged product that is unwearable has a far greater environmental cost than manufacturing a polybag.”