We are halfway through 2023; it has been a busy year so far!
Let’s take a look back a just a couple of our achievements.
Be More Bison
BE MORE BISON was our first print promotion created to evoke thoughts about the world’s current challenges and how we can look to nature for inspiration and positivity. Turning away from our challenges seems the easiest option. But, in essence, Bison turn into a snowstorm because they instinctively know that walking head-on into it will get them to brighter, better weather sooner.
Not only was this our first print promotion of 2023, but this was the first exclusive print that went to our INDEX owners. When we introduced INDEX at the end of 2022, we wanted to create an experience for owners that gave them the first look at any prints, new foils, and exclusive content, and this was the perfect way to start.
B Corp Certified
After over a year of hard work and dedication, Foilco became B Corp Certified. Our B Corp Certification confirmed that we put sustainability, social impact and people at the heart of our business.
This was a massive achievement for our team as we have always focused on positively educating about foil, solidifying our place as a b corp.
“We are on a mission to establish the end-to-end environmental credentials of foil as a decorative finish. That doesn’t stop at simply proving the product’s sustainability. It’s about how we do business and runs through the entire fabric of our organisation, from research and development to manufacture, delivery and the collection and reuse of the used material.” – Paul Hornby, Managing Director.
Bins
Early in the year, we also saw the launch of Bins, a book produced by the talented comedian Joe Lycett. Our foils were featured throughout the book, with our Bifrost Holographic Black (600F755) taking centre stage on the cover. Our Bifrost Black created a bin bag-like cover for the book, which was fitting for the book’s theme—an art piece featuring bins throughout the UK with witty captions.
This was such a fun project that we were excited to share, and definitely, a new and unique concept for us to see our foils being used on.
Events
As for events, this year has been non-stop!
We started at the launch of the 10th-anniversary event for BCNMCR and hosted an incredible digital foiling workshop. The night was excellent, with creatives and designers from Barcelona, Manchester and the rest of the UK coming together to learn about the digital foiling possibilities available to everyone.
Our Well-Being Committee has also given employees the opportunity to take our digital foil workshop to our chosen charity of the year, the Joshua Tree. The Joshua Tree hosts various fun days throughout the year for families to participate in different creative activities, and we have been honoured to attend 3 of them in the last few months.
We have also had the chance to attend several exhibitions and showcase our latest swatch INDEX to creatives, printers and brands first-hand. We have visited IPS, Premiere Packaging in Milan and Grafatronic, and towards the end of the year, we’ll also be attending Luxepack and London Packaging Week. Make sure to keep an eye out for more details.
Compostability
Just a few weeks ago, we announced the compostability of foil, another huge step for us on our journey to establishing end-to-end environmental credentials of foils.
Over the last year, we have been working closely with a company called Intertrek, which has conducted a study using a range of our hot stamping foils.
The results from the study conducted by Intertek found that after 12 weeks, the degree of disintegration of our samples was 99.2% meaning only 0.8% of the test sample remained, far less than the maximum 10% allowed.
After 135 days, 92.61% of the organic carbon in the foil samples had converted to carbon dioxide. Again, well within the target and timeframe of at least 90% within 180 days.
Finally, the toxicity test on the compost sample containing the pigment and metallic stamping foils showed no adverse effect on the seedling emergence or growth.
So yes! Foil is compostable.
Carbon Neutrality
Finally, just two weeks ago, we announced that we had achieved Carbon Neutrality!
Over the past year, we have analysed the different kinds of carbon emissions in our operations and the broader value chain and made changes within the business to help towards our zero carbon emissions goal.
We have also worked closely with another B Corp-certified Business, Ecologi, to find the best way to offset our emissions through certified carbon avoidance projects.
We are thrilled to have achieved so much already in just six months, and with a host of new promotional items, events and workshops to come throughout the rest of the year, we are only just getting started.
