Nexgen Nabs UK Award for Plastic-Free Hangers with Primark
Illinois-based Nexgen Packaging received the U.K. Packaging Design Team of the Year award for its work with Irish fast-fashion retailer Primark to replace plastic hangers with a more sustainable option.
The packaging solutions provider on Wednesday announced that it had been recognized for its work supporting Primark’s efforts to eliminate single-use plastics. Together they developed paper fiberboard hangers for several products, showcasing Nexgen’s design engineering expertise as well as its ability to test and manufacture eco-conscious products at scale.
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The award also recognized Primark’s dedication to its sustainability commitments. “The design team at Nexgen understand the challenges of the Primark business to introduce paper hangers,” said Davi Costa, packaging technologist at the Primark Centre of Excellence, noting that the duo “worked together as one team to create, prototype and finesse the final designs.”
“The packaging team and other departments in Primark are very happy with the functionality and results in store,” Costa added. “We’re all thrilled about Nexgen’s well-deserved recognition and this award represents a significant milestone in our journey towards eliminating single use plastics.”
Nexgen was honored at an awards ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. “This award is a testament to our design teams’ commitment and dedication which resulted in a fantastic catalogue of paper hangers that will enable Primark to transition away from plastic without risk,” Nexgen Europe, Middle East and Asia managing director Manuel Torres said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team, our partnership with Primark and the remarkable efforts both teams have made throughout this project.”
According to Torres, the Team of the Year award underscores the collaborators’ commitment to environmental innovation in the packaging space. Founded in 2006, Nexgen leverages software and analytics in design and manufacturing to create solutions tailored to each brand’s needs.
Nexgen has developed a leading edge in tag and label production. It offers a portfolio of sustainable branding products for retail, apparel and footwear manufactured in 19 countries and 20,000 factories. In August, Nexgen reinforced its Africa sourcing strategy via a partnership with industrial park developer Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (IIP) to produce hangtags, wash care labels, size labels, flag labels, barcodes, printed tape and stickers leveraging the new Nexgen print facility near the complex. In the future, Nexgen plans to manufacture inside the park’s apparel factories to shorten lead times and streamline logistics.
While Nexgen is known for trims and packaging, its paper-based hangers are gaining traction with brands reducing plastic use across their supply chains. A June collaboration with French retailer Kiabi led to the development of plastic-free hangers for its secondhand children’s apparel concept store Kidkanai. Also made with fiberboard, the hangers came in seven silhouettes optimized for garments for infants through to older children.
