Pakka unites with fashion and lifestyle brands

In celebration of Earth Day, Pakka - a compostable packaging manufacturer in India, along with other 14 companies have committed to end sourcing from endangered forests in their textile and packaging supply chains, demonstrating their dedication to people and the planet. This commitment is part of the CanopyStyle and Pack4Good initiatives from solutions-driven environmental not-for-profit Canopy. 

As Next Gen innovators — Pakka and other organisations like BlockTexx, Genera, Nordic Bioproducts, and Ponda offer solutions technologies that range from packaging solutions made from miscanthus pulp, clothing waste, wheat straw, or hemp residues to high-quality pulps for textiles and wetland-regenerating fibres.  These innovators offer creative and low-impact alternatives to forest fibre. As new governmental regulations around deforestation, climate, and eco-design come into play, trailblazers such as these will provide the circular, climate-friendly materials that global brands need.

Other forward-thinking fashion and lifestyle brands in today’s announcement include John Lewis & Partners, Kering, Groupe Beaumanoir, Zadig & Voltaire, C&A, PANGAIA, City Threads, 2WO+1NE=2, Zeus + Dione, and House of Hackney.

Annually, 3.4 billion trees are cut down to make man-made cellulosic fibre (MMCF)-based textiles, like viscose and rayon, and for paper packaging. That is equivalent to two soccer pitches worth of forests being cut down every second. Beyond their commitment to preserving the world’s most climate and biodiversity-critical forests, these companies will also invest in low-carbon, circular fibre alternatives like Next Gen materials, and advocate for forest conservation and restoration globally. 

Founded in 1981, Ayodhya-based Yash Papers Limited, a manufacturer of low-grammage kraft paper, the company strategically forayed into sustainable packaging. It was rebranded as Yash Pakka in 2019 to align with the mission of creating and promoting compostable packaging solutions, rebranding once again in 2023 to emerge as Pakka Limited. The company has established a global footprint, with its products accessible in over 40 countries and offices present in India, North America and it plans to establish a facility in Guatemala.

Pakka (legal entity known as Pakka Limited) is a company that is revolutionising the Indian food packaging industry with its commitment to sustainability and innovation. Founded in 1981, as Yash Papers Limited, the company has since evolved to become a global leader in compostable packaging solutions. Its purpose is to leave a cleaner planet for future generations by providing compostable and regenerative alternatives to non-compostable multilayer flexible packaging, single-use plastics and Styrofoam, which can take hundreds of years to degrade.

In addition, the main production facility generates its own electricity with an 8.5 MW plant that runs on 100% biomass-based energy. The raw materials and fuel used in the facility are locally sourced, and they recover 95% of the cooking chemicals used in manufacturing. The company has a strong focus on innovation and R&D and is working on path-breaking products and processes for fibre, pulp, paper, biopolymers, moulded products, waste lines, and more. Pakka has a team of over 450 employees around the world. The majority of the workforce at the manufacturing facility in Ayodhya live in nearby towns and villages.