Foam inserts free from crude oil

In recent years, we have seen an increasing demand for an alternative to the classic foam inserts found in a large selection of our jewellery boxes. A few years ago, we introduced our ECO cardboard inserts, but if you prefer a soft insert, we have a nice alternative for you.

We are pleased to present our new jewellery box inserts made from Tall oil – a by-product extracted from trees from paper production. In other words: now jewellers everywhere can order high-quality foam inserts which are 100% free from crude oil. The new initiative is an excellent example of how the packaging industry can benefit from adapting principles from the circular economy.

Without crude oil. What else?

“For a long time, our customers have asked us to make foam inserts without oil”, says sales manager Henrik Hansen when asked about the new introduction.

He pauses for a moment to pick up one of the new inserts: “But we succeeded. And I’m so happy with the way the new material turned out. It looks and feels great.

How are the foam inserts made?

The inserts are, as previously mentioned, made from Tall oil, which is a by-product of paper production. The production of paper takes place (in short) by felling, debarking and comminuting pine trees. It is then softened and processed to end up with a pulp consisting of wood fibres and water.

Wood basically consists of three parts: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. When the wood is processed, the wood fibres (cellulose) are separated from the remaining parts, which form a by-product called black liquor. The water from the black liquor evaporates, after which you are left with something called black liquor soap that can be skimmed off.

The clear advantage of the new foam inserts is the fact that they are not made from plastic.

Boston ECO and Frankfurt ECO with the new foam inserts

Boston and Frankfurt are true Westpack classics. So, naturally, they are the first jewellery box series we will introduce that features the new foam inserts. This means that you can now order three different versions of Boston ECO and Frankfurt ECO:

• The original version with standard foam inserts
• The version without inserts
• The new version with foam inserts made from tall oil

Both Boston ECO and Frankfurt ECO are produced in our factory in Denmark.

Read more about our Danish production >

Recycling or disposing of jewellery boxes

Our jewellery boxes can be partially recycled, so if they need to be disposed of, you just have to separate them so that the shell itself can be recycled as cardboard/paper. The insert cannot be recycled but disposed of as household garbage.

… But why not use the jewellery boxes for another great purpose? Here are some tips on how your customers could use them:

• As a gift box for small homemade gifts
• As storage of beads, coins, paper clips etc.
• Remove the lid and use the bottom of the box and the foam as a needle pad
• For DIY projects:
• Glue several together into an organizer for drawers etc.
• Cover them with fabric, paint them, decorate them with beads, glitter etc.