High street retailer, Next is leading the way in adopting Loxleys’ plastic-free Eco-Hook for displaying greeting cards in its stores. The new all-board hook is rolling out in Next stores, initially on four designs of Hotchpotch greeting cards, but with more to follow.
Sheffield-based greeting card printer Loxleys developed the Eco-Hook as part of its ongoing mission to come up with solutions to reduce the environmental impact of greeting cards. The Eco-Hook is an all-board alternative to a plastic euro-hook which is integrated into the card design with a perforation line to provide an easy tear for the consumer.
Explaining some of the background to this latest addition to Loxleys’ suite of environmental solutions, managing director Tony Lorriman said: “With a shift towards naked cards, it was vital that we developed a solution that would allow publishers and retailers to continue displaying their cards on a hanging euro-hook, but we knew we faced issues with using a plastic-based euro-hook or attaching a euro-hook to a non-bagged card because of the damages it would cause to the card. An integrated board hook solved all the problems as it allows us to combine the Eco-Hook© with a Secure-Seal label, displaying the card securely at retail while allowing us to offer our customers a naked card packing option”.
Next’s adoption of this plastic-free packaging option is in line with Hotchpotch’s move to supply its greeting cards unwrapped as standard (unless the designs require special protection).
As Anna Price, Hotchpotch’s head of design commented: “We are excited to see our designs displayed in store in this innovative way, avoiding the use of single use plastic. It’s wonderful to see and be part of suppliers, customers, manufacturers and publishers all putting their heads together, making small steps to help create more sustainable products.” Loxleys has also recently unveiled a fresh new look to its Digital logo, revamping the brand image of the company’s on-site digital department. Long established greeting card printer, Loxleys first entered the digital market 16 years ago and in 2017 brought the digital department in-house in the Sheffield-based factory.
Alice Buck, Loxleys marketing co-ordinator commented: “The rebranding of our digital logo is to reinforce and highlight our commitment to the digital market as well as the litho market. Bringing the branding in-line with the Loxleys logo helps to communicate our offering to both markets more clearly”.
Top: The first four Hotchpotch card designs that are featuring the new copyrighted Eco-Hook in Next stores. The Hotchpotch designs also feature eco-glitter made from eucalyptus tree cellulose with the envelope and card held together by a Secure-Seal label.
