Nexpak DVD cases certified under green standard

By Wendy Wilson November 8, 2007

NOV. 8 | Media packaging manufacturer Nexpak has become the first to have its products certified under a new green standards initiative introduced by the Content Delivery and Storage Assn. trade group (formerly IRMA).

Specifically, Nexpak’s facility in Duluth, Ga., met the CDSA’s plastic DVD packaging standard, a set of guidelines designed to minimize the amount of harmful substances used in manufacturing DVD cases and any environmental contamination resulting from their disposal.

To be certified by the CDSA, Nexpak had to provide samples from its facility to an outside laboratory that analyzed the composition of the packaging.

Nexpak’s DVD cases are made exclusively of polypropylene, a clean, durable resin.

Shelli Kaiser, executive director of marketing for Nexpak, explained that, unlike styrene, polypropylene is resistant to cracking and makes DVD cases that can be kept long after purchase.

“Nexpak has always been engaged in ways to conserve and protect the environment,” Kaiser said, “and we want our customers to know that we use only pure, clean resin, so it is safe for them, the environment and it protects the recycle stream in the event a case is thrown away.”

Any company producing plastic DVD cases can be considered for certification by the CDSA’s standard. DVD packaging manufacturer AGI Polymatrix’s Kentucky and Massachusetts facilities are being tested for certification.

The CDSA is a global organization with member companies from all areas of the recorded media business, from copyright holders to raw material providers. Next week, the trade association’s Sustainable Media Packaging committee will meet in Spartanburg, S.C., as part of its ongoing corporate discussion as to how it can best support “and perhaps drive” the adoption of greener packaging.

In addition to Nexpak, CDSA members include JVC, Cinram, Sonopress, Sony DADC and Technicolor.