Pet Care Brand Reduces Carbon Emissions Through a Shift From Rigid to Flexible Packaging

Challenge:

As part of its sustainability commitments, a leading pet care brand set out to challenge the typical structure of cat litter packaging, a format historically reliant on rigid containers such as corrugate structures with nylon handles or rigid plastic structures.

Rigid packaging delivers strength for heavy, abrasive products, but at the cost of excess material and inefficient package‑to‑product ratios. At a market level there is a need flexible alternative that delivers comparable rigid-level performance while reducing material intensity and without losing recyclability.

Assessment:

Working closely with a leading converter partner, Pregis aligned early on what a flexible alternative needed to accomplish to replace the rigid format. For bulk cat litter, this meant defining clear performance specifications. The pouch had to withstand high tensile and shear forces during lifting, seal stress under dense fill weights and puncture risk from sharp, abrasive granules.

Equally important was understanding how the package moves through the supply chain. By evaluating handling conditions across converting, co-packing, warehousing and distribution, including exposure to drops, the team ensured the flexible structure could meet sustainability goals while fitting seamlessly into existing operational workflows.

Solution:

Based on these insights, Pregis customized their U-Series Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Renew™ Series Film 

to provide similar functional performance of a rigid container with significantly less material.

Sustainable by design: Prequalified as store drop‑off recyclable through How2Recycle®, the mono‑material film reduces excess material, packaging and dimensional weight, helping lower material and transport-related emissions compared to rigid formats.

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