We have set ourselves an ambitious goal:
By the end of 2024, we want our single-use packages for end users to be entirely plastic-free.
The reason for this change is obvious.
The plastic pollution in our environment is an ecological problem with dramatic effects for animals and plants – and consequently also for us humans. The plastic waste that we produce daily contaminates the oceans and our drinking water. The concentrations of tiny plastic particles, called microplastics, continue to increase and is also getting into our bodies, as we consume them with our food.
The waste has to go!
Each year, 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced, of which more than 10 million tonnes end up in the oceans and seas as plastic waste. According to the EU Commission, we Europeans alone produce 25 million tonnes of plastic waste per year.
All of these problems have long been known.
To protect the environment, single-use plastic and polystyrene products are banned by law as of 3 July 2021. From 2030 onward, all plastic bottles must consist of at least 30 percent recycled materials. These are important milestones in the fight against plastic waste – but not enough. <br/> With the conversion to plastic-free packaging, we are also contributing to turning the tide in the use of plastic. As a strong partner of the retail trade, wolfcraft demonstrates that effective packaging design and environmental protection can form an excellent combination.
We do not react, we are proactive!
wolfcraft recognises that most consumers want to avoid packaging waste and are more critical than they used to be when shopping. We believe that the demand for plastic-free packaging will significantly increase, not only in food retailing but also in hardware stores. With our mission, we are therefore not only accepting responsibility, but are also getting ahead of an important consumer trend.
...consumers already prefer to shop for products that generate little packaging waste.*
...of consumers would use sustainable packaging.**
Principles with vision and responsibility.
Environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources are our top priorities in designing our packaging. wolfcraft was one of the first manufacturers to join the German dual recycling system.
The long and the short of it.
We have made good progress in the development of our plastic-free packaging and are already able to produce some packaging without plastic. For the first phase of the switchover, we are concentrating on the packaging that has the highest plastic content.
Dowelmaster
Before: >90 % plastic content
Now: <1% plastic content. (Will be reduced to 0% in 2022!)
Tacocraft 7
Before: >90 % plastic content
Now: <1% plastic content.
Laminate set
Before: >90 % plastic content
Now: 0% plastic content.
We are investing in the future.
wolfcraft is investing large sums in new production machines for manufacturing packaging without plastic. Of course, before such machines can be developed, the packaging itself has to be designed. Here we take great care to resolve conflicting requirements right from the start. We do not only want to fulfil the needs of the brick-and-mortar retailers and the wishes of the end customer, but are also aware of the immense importance of online retailing.
Our new packaging therefore not only has to be functional, informative, but also has to have a long shelf life and appeal to customers, be space-saving and stable for shipping purposes. And if that wasn't enough, sustainability also has to be taken into account. However, thanks to our many years of experience and innovative ideas, we are not only up to the challenge, but are already a step ahead.
“No” to packaging waste.
“Yes“ to long-lasting plastic products.
Sustainability is important to us, and thus we are on a mission to eliminate plastic packaging waste. Single-use packaging is a burden on the environment, due to its short period of use, and there are intelligent ways to replace it.
We do not only strive for sustainability in our packaging, but also in the production of our high-quality plastic products. Thanks to our decades of expertise in manufacturing plastic products and continuous quality management, we can give the end user a ten year warranty on many of our products! Thus, with durable plastic products, we set ourselves apart from low-quality, wasteful products made of other materials.
Caulking Gun from metal
Caulking Gun with two-component plastic
If, instead of plastic, we were to use other materials for our tools, we would have to use 3.5 times as much alternative material by weight.* This means higher energy consumption during fabrication, higher transport costs, as well as problems during disposal and recycling.
After a longer-than-average service life, the wolfcraft products can be recycled. Thus 99% of all plastic parts can be reused within the recycling process. Contrary to single-use products, our plastic products thus have an exemplary environmental footprint.
* Source: Gesamtverband Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie e.V. (German Association of Plastics Converters)
We have started the domino effect towards change.
From problem hunters to problem solvers.
The most important criterion for our success is a fundamental understanding of the needs, tasks and expectations of the users. For more than 70 years, we have been manufacturing accessories for powertools in our own factories and defining quality standards for our entire industrial sector. In addition to quality, the topicality and further development of the product ranges are also key success factors. We reflect new trends on the market and consumer side in new products, practically in real time.
We have traditionally placed a high premium on the development of product packaging – wolfcraft has been a packaging visionary from day one. We value customer-focused communication, with the aim of promoting sales and achieving optimal area profitability for the retail trade. We reliably implement all regulatory stipulations in our packaging, which means that the retailers can enjoy legal certainty.
We see chances instead of risks.
There are no clear-cut boundaries between digital and physical information and shopping channels. We are therefore of the opinion that it is necessary to rethink packaging design. As pioneers and trendsetters for customer-focused POS communication, we create innovative multi-channel concepts that also take into account our ambitious sustainability goals. Thus we advance both wolfcraft as a brand and the retail trade, and provide an important contribution to protecting our environment.
Together we can turn the tide in the use of plastic!
We are switching to plastic-free packaging in a multi-phase process. Thus we safeguard seamless implementation without interruption to the day-to-day business of the retailers and simultaneously ensure optimal communication and easy orientation at the shelves in the store.
We are looking forward to providing a valuable contribution towards the protection of our environment, side-by-side with the retail trade.
Sources: * YouGov, 2019 | ** PWC, 2018
