A new study sponsored by The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association has revealed that plastic packaging has significant benefits over other packaging alternatives. The study, titled “Impact of Plastics Packaging on Life Cycle Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the United States and Canada,” revealed that plastic packaging could actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions and total energy use compared to other packaging options created with substitute materials.

PET plastics are popular for plenty of reasons, not the least of which is their clarity—remember, this is a plastic that you use when you want to show off your product. If you don't necessarily need something transparent, but you want something strong and resilient, CPET could be exactly what you're looking for.

Once you get past the basic types of PET plastics, you get into the modified copolymers—these are PET plastics that have been treated with something that changes its structure. Today, I want to introduce PETG plastic, otherwise known as polyethylene terephthalate - glycol modified.

From our last blog post, you now know a little about polyethylene terephthalates, or PET plastics. You know that this type of plastic is a staple in food and beverage packaging. It's also used in the packaging of plenty of other products, though not necessarily ones you want to eat or drink—PET is a mainstay for packaging things like cosmetics and cleaning chemicals. Just look at the recycling code on any PET plastic package, and you'll see: It's number one.

Thermoformed packaging is a complicated discipline that requires a great deal of understanding of materials, and the actual methods used to create the package. Plastic vacuum forming is one of the most simplified of these methods. This process generally mimics many of the thermoforming principles, with potential cost saving measures for the client.