Taplast, the Italian company specialised in the design and production of closures and dispensing systems for the personal care & household detergents sector, completes the environmental value of its products with a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) developed in collaboration with Milan Polytechnic.

The study which was carried out by Professor Giovanni Dotelli, of the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering  "Giulio Natta" of the leading Milanese university, highlights the lower impact, in terms of CO2 emissions, of the Taplast All Plastic Pump range. It's thanks to the polymeric spring, characteristic of this pump, entirely made in plastic, and which replaces the usual metal spring found in most pumps, that minor environmental impact emerges throughout the products life cycle : overall 47,3g (1.668 ounces) of CO₂-equivalent are discharged into the atmosphere rather than the 53,4 (1.884 ounces)of a traditional-type pump. "These 6,1 grams less translate into a 11,5% saving - underlines Paolo Santagiuliana, Managing Director of the Italian company - so, if we consider that the average annual consumption of a leading consumer branded product is around 10 million pumps, then the use of an All Plastic Pump generates a benefit that compensates the emissions discharged by 1 million hours of illumination  by a 100 watt tungsten light bulb or those of the annual, class A,  energy consumption of 34 family dwellings of 100 sq metres".

Since 1997 to the present day Taplast has sold over 830 million All Plastic Pumps, that means a result in terms of the reduction the amount of CO2 equivalent discharged into the environment of 5 063 tons (5 581 short tons Us) compared to what would have been the case if the alternative metal spring pumps had been used !.

However, prevention in terms of reducing environmental impact is also underway other phases of the design process: Taplast, indeed, was amongst the first companies to achieve performance comparable to that of a traditional dispensing pump with a pump of fewer components.

 "We were the first to reduce the number of components that usually make up a pump for liquid detergents" - explains Santagiuliana - Also, in the design phase, we are always looking at the possibility of maintaining or increasing performance by reducing the weight of plastic material used, which also increases the advantage due to a reduction in the amount of energy necessary for the transportation of parts". In recent years, the average weight of our products has fallen by 11%, whilst the weight of products with reduced environmental impact has progressively grown to reach 52% of our total sales in value terms.

A further confirmation of the success of this approach to product development that integrates different needs, comes from the international recognition received by Taplast's products : over 11 prestigious international packaging awards in the last 14 years.

"An important part of this success - explains the managing director of the Italian company - ‘'is thanks to our young dedicated team: that includes both our internal collaborators, where the average age does not exceed 35, as well as the young freelance designers that we involve on an ad hoc basis within a modular structure that comes together according to the competences required for a given project. These amorphous project teams are coordinated by Brain@Work, our autonomous design division that develops and engineers products both for our own standard ranges and custom-made applications for our clients"

Sustainability and disruptive innovation become internal know-how and value for our clients: Taplast's products confirm the possibility of combining savings, ecology, but also the best in design: innovative dispensing executions, minimalism in materials and high functionality with ergonomy, all offer an exclusive tool for diversification and marketing.   Will you carbon label?

Taplast, develops and produces plastic dispensing systems (caps and pumps), for leading multinationals in the consumer goods sector in the personal care & household detergent segments. A family company, founded in 1973 that is today run by the second generation of the founding Santagiuliana family.