Page 14 - Packaging News Magazine May-June 2018

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AIP CONFERENCE 2018 www.packagingnews.com.au May-June 2018
A tumultuous love affair
The resounding sentiment at the conference was that the industry needed a stronger voice to stem the tide of negativity about packaging. Alison Leader reports.
MEMBERS of the International Packaging Press Organisation (IPPO), a profession- al global group of editors, journalists and writers who cover packaging and the packaging industry, were among those who flew over to network at the two-day confer- ence on the Gold Coast – and some took to the stage to share trends insights and opin- ions about where the industry is headed.
Journalist Des King shared his thoughts on the “outrage” currently expressed in the UK about plastics packaging.
“It’s difficult for me to think of any other facet of everyday life that has been so de- monised so quickly, and which is so easy to love to hate,” he said. “It’s an emotional mindset. We [consumers] like to be fright- ened every day by something new. And we are frightened of packaging.”
While acknowledging that the packag- ing industry’s primary focus is to work on behalf of its immediate customer base, King proposed that in the light of recent events, the industry should be far more
The IPPO panel: (L-R) Andrew Manly, Pat Reynolds, Steven Pacitti, Des King and Lindy Hughson.
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mindful about how packaging is perceived by the real end users – consumers.
“Who will voice the counter argument to fashion a defence no one is interested in hearing? Packaging and the consumer need more than a one-night stand.
“If we want packaging to be better valued by customers, it’s up to us to be doing some- thing about it – not rely on the rest of the supply chain to do the explaining for us.”
King shared his views as part of a panel featuring four communications experts, and
chaired by PKN Packaging News publisher Lindy Hughson. The panel covered issues such as educating consumers about technol- ogy that extends shelf life, and the impor- tance of packaging in preventing food waste.
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
IPPO president and editor of the UK’s Plas- tics in Packaging, Steven Pacitti, humor- ously covered a host of interesting plastics and packaging trends as part of his talk, entitled The Plastics Files.