Ecotwist is the new easy to open and recyclable packaging from John West, one of the leading tuna producers, which has decided to eliminate excess packaging from its products: no shrink wrap, no cardboard, just an aluminium strip that holds the two cans together, all fully recyclable.
Mark Doherty, Managing Director of John West Foods, said:
Ecotwist is the best packaging and product we have ever brought to our consumers. We have spent three years developing Ecotwist to reduce packaging waste in our consumers’ lives and to make our quality products taste and look even better. It’s the ultimate faff-free solution to busy lives - storing and opening the cans is so easy and thanks to no excess packaging, recycling has never been easier, saving our consumers time to enjoy our healthy and nutritious products.
Ecotwist takes sustainability to the next level
John West has developed a multi-can “tower”, still patent pending, held together by the SmartStrip. The team redesigned this special can to ensure the same amount of tuna while saving over 400 tons of steel per year.
The smaller and lighter can also reduce the amount of other product ingredients, such as sunflower oil and brine, saving a further 1,500 tons of ingredients that consumers would normally throw down the drain.
Chris Shearlock, European Director for Sustainability at parent company Thai Union, said:
Ecotwist was designed to meet John West’s ambitious packaging sustainability targets. They avoid approximately 65 tons of plastic shrink wrap or around 300 tons of cardboard equivalent annually. John West’s SmartStrip has been independently verified as fully recyclable, so consumers can recycle the cans in one piece through the UK kerbside recycling network.
All of John West's Ecotwist 'no drain' products are already MSC certified and the company plans to achieve MSC certification for the entire Ecotwist range by the end of 2025, with the aim of becoming the UK's most sustainable seafood brand.
