Category: Filters

  • Greenbutts and Boegli Partner in Filters

    Greenbutts and Boegli Partner in Filters

    Image: Greenbutts

    Greenbutts and Boegli Gravures have jointly developed a new technology to manufacture biodegradable filters.

    Trademarked as Greenbossing, the innovation enhances and tailors existing filtration capabilities along with the sensorial experience, according to the companies.

    Greenbutts’ fully patented biodegradable filters deliver the sensorial experience of traditional cigarette filters without the plastic waste.

    “For decades, our company has placed itself on the cutting edge of new technological solutions in the field of macro, micro and nano embossing solutions called ‘Vividus,’ ‘Midas’ and ‘Iris,’” said Boegli Gravures CEO and chairman Charles Boegli in a statement. “We are very proud to partner with Greenbutts to join our competences and address the huge ecological needs arising in the field of filter manufacturing, to which Greenbossing will be the answer.”

    “Our organization has cultivated a strong partnership with the world-renowned embossing technology company Boegli and is pleased to announce the patent filing of our joint technology,” said Luis Sanches, chief strategy officer of Greenbutts. “This new IP will revolutionize the process of Greenbutts’ filter rod manufacturing. Greenbossing is a truly innovative feature, which will strengthen our position by introducing the next generation of biodegradable filters for the tobacco industry.”

    “We are very proud to have Boegli Gravures as a solid and reliable partner,” said Greenbutts CEO Tadas Lisauskas. “The embossing technology that we jointly developed is nothing short of revolutionary, and we look forward to introducing even further technological advances in the coming months. As the cigarette industry is faced with transformative changes, driven by single-use plastic legislation and stronger commitments to their environmental agendas, we will ensure that Greenbutts continues to offer industry-leading innovations to maintain our leadership status in assisting with this transition.”

  • Greenbutts’ Filter Certified

    Greenbutts’ Filter Certified

    Greenbutts has received the Hohenstein Quality Label for a novel biodegradable filter technology designed to replace the most littered single-use plastic item—cigarette filters. 

    “Receiving this certification of biodegradability from Hohenstein is validation of all the hard work over the past decade to develop and optimize our Greenbutts filter technology to be a truly eco-friendly replacement for cellulose acetate,” said Greenbutts CEO Tadas Lisauskas in a statement.

    “We are excited to offer this certified material to a variety of filtration media products in the near future to help eradicate single-use synthetics used in the filtration industry.”

    “We have put our best minds toward delivering a transformative solution for the global tobacco industry,” said Greenbutts Chief Strategy Officer Luis Sanches. “Our world demands high corporate responsibility coupled with measurable impact, and no matter where our customers may be, we all can do our part.”

    Using patented material science, Greenbutts filters are biodegradable, plastic-free and water dispersing. According to the company, Greenbutts filters will disperse in water within a few minutes and will degrade in compost within days as opposed to 10–15 years as is the case with traditional cellulose acetate filters.

  • Essentra Sells Filters Businesses

    Essentra Sells Filters Businesses

    Photo: Essentra

    Essentra has sold its filters and packaging businesses and appointed a new CEO.

    In a statement released Oct. 3, the company said it had disposed Essentra Filter Holdings to Frank Acquisition Four, which is part of Centaury Management and owned by the investment office of the Markus family.

    The deal, which is expected to complete Jan. 31, 2023, values the filters business at approximately £262.1 million ($301 million). For the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, filters delivered adjusted operating profit of £28.2 million.

    Essentra’s packaging division was sold to the Mayr-Melnhof Group for £312 million. The sale to Mayr-Melnhof excluded Essentra’s Indian packaging business, which represents less than 1 percent of the group revenues and was purchased by BBM Bommidala.

    Paul Forman will step down as CEO on Dec. 31, 2022. He will be succeeded by Scott Fawcett, currently the managing director of Essentra’s components division. Fawcett will join the board on Jan. 1, 2023.

    The sale of the filter business follows a strategic review launched in October 2021.

    “The sale of filters marks the final step of our journey to become a pure-play components business,” said Forman. “Essentra has a bright future as a leading global manufacturer and distributor of components with a clear strategy and significant opportunities to accelerate growth and expand market share.

    “This transaction strengthens Essentra’s balance sheet and enables the group to return a meaningful portion of the proceeds to shareholders whilst maintaining the flexibility to invest in organic and inorganic growth.”

  • Greenbutts to Attend COP27

    Greenbutts to Attend COP27

    Luis Sanches (Photo: Greenbutts)

    Greenbutts will be joining the official Canadian delegation at COP27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2022.

    The company will bring attention to the issue of plastic pollution caused by cigarette filters and highlight its ability to assist in the transition away from cellulose acetate filters used in the global tobacco industry, a problem the U.N. describes as “the most discarded waste item worldwide.”

    “We are honored to be invited to participate in COP27 as part of the official Canadian delegation, where we intend to shed meaningful light on the global crisis of single-use plastic cigarette filters and offer an impactful solution,” said Luis Sanches, chief strategy officer of Greenbutts, in a statement.

    “Greenbutts is in a unique position to deliver a sustainable innovation that can drastically decrease the amount of harmful plastic that is discarded every day and ends up in our oceans. Our IP and technology have advanced greatly, and we believe that we can now offer this solution to the global tobacco industry for mass implementation, effectively ending the reliance on single-use plastic filters,” said Tadas Lisauskas, CEO of Greenbutts.

    Since 2010, Greenbutts has worked with R&D institutions, tobacco companies and industry experts to develop biodegradable filter technology. The company has developed and patented a “zero-plastic” filter that is 100 percent biodegradable and water dispersing.

    This year’s COP will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 6–18.

  • Leaving No Trace

    Leaving No Trace

    Photo: McAirlaid’s Vliesstoffe

    McAirlaid’s Genia cigarette filters decompose in a matter of weeks rather than years.

    By George Gay

    Some time ago, Rachel Roddy, a food writer specializing in Italian cuisine, wrote in The Guardian newspaper’s Feast magazine that 80 percent of recipes could be improved by omitting the tomatoes usually included. Being a renowned tomato-phobe, I was delighted with this story and set out on a campaign to have the message more widely disseminated and acted upon—a campaign that was met with little success, I’m sorry to say, and that fell by the wayside.

    But I was reminded of Roddy’s piece recently when reading the McAirlaid’s Vliesstoffe’s website, which, at one point, poses an intriguing question: Is it possible to achieve more by omitting something? Of course, I was a convert and knew the answer immediately. Yes. Leave out the tomatoes!

    While answering yes to its own question, McAirlaid’s would not be too happy with my response, I think, because part of its business is focused on food packaging, and tomatoes probably figure in the makeup of that business. But I’m getting ahead of myself. This piece mainly concerns another aspect of the company’s business: cigarette filters—specifically, cigarette filters that offer tobacco-smoke taste similar to that provided by cellulose acetate filters but that are manufactured using only pure cellulose, free from bonding agents, and that, therefore, decompose in a matter of weeks rather than years as is the case with cellulose acetate products.

    A Patented Process

    Katja Selle

    McAirlaid’s specializes in manufacturing nonwoven absorption fleeces from pure, nonchlorine-bleached cellulose fibers using only a patented “airlaid” thermo-mechanical process to bond the fibers. In other words, the company omits from its SuperCore fleece the nonabsorbing bonding agents typically used to make fleeces, allowing SuperCore to achieve greater absorption and fluid distribution than is achieved using traditionally bonded fleeces.

    The company, which sells its SuperCore fleece either as a raw material or as finished products, has four production sites in Germany and one in the U.S. Associate Sales Director Katja Selle told me during an email exchange that the company even had its own engineering department with machine design and building capabilities, which allowed it to develop “innovative and unique technologies.” Currently, it operates with five airlaid machines to produce its SuperCore fleece and more than 100 processing machines to service the particular requirements of the various markets with which it is involved and which it designates as food packaging, hygiene, medical, cigarette filters and home and garden.

    And while McAirlaid’s products may rightly be described as environmentally friendly, so, too, can its processes. The company’s cellulose production, which is certified by the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, operates with low carbon dioxide emissions and without the use of freshwater—and therefore without creating wastewater. Production buildings are climate controlled by means of efficient heat recovery systems.

    McAirlaid’s, which now has more than 500 employees and customers in more than 70 countries, was founded in 1997 in Steinfurt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with production at its Heilbad Heiligenstadt factory starting the following year. It opened its third factory in Virginia, USA, operating as subsidiary, McAirlaid’s Inc., in 2006 and set up a new marketing organization offering Genia cigarette filters in 2017. 2020 saw the start of its first face mask machine.

    The material that makes up Genia cigarette filters was developed by McAirlaid’s and is made from 100 percent EN-13432-certified cellulose produced using the same airlaid technology that is used for producing the company’s other products, though modified to meet the specific needs of the tobacco industry (EN-13432 is an industrial compostability standard). It is offered bleached or unbleached and is said to be available in just about any filter rod specification, including those suitable for heat-not-burn products. Genia filters are already part of tobacco cigarettes, filtered cigarillos and hemp cigarettes that are available in Europe, and, currently, tests and developments are being carried out in conjunction with many small and large manufacturers in the cigarette, cigarillo and roll-your-own segments.

    McAirlaid’s biggest factory, at Berlingerode, Germany

    Ahead of its Time

    Development of these cigarette filters has been a long time coming. The founder of McAirlaid’s, Alexander Maksimow, recognized the littering problem associated with cigarette butts in the 1990s, at a time when, according to Selle, the market wasn’t ready to accept a change to more sustainable products. Once started, development took several years but was accelerated with the arrival of McAirlaid’s own rod-making machine, which allows it to manufacture efficiently at one of its German factories sample rods for testing by prospective adopters of Genia filters. This is important because Genia filters are always custom made for individual cigarette manufacturers after a joint development process aimed at identifying the most appropriate product to replace a cellulose acetate filter.

    And things are likely to move much quicker in the future. The major filter producers are said now to have similar machines that run equally well as the one developed by McAirlaid’s, and the company has worked with filter-rod-machine builders to optimize the use of airlaid materials through their machines. Additionally, Selle said, McAirlaid’s airlaid material was being manufactured into filter rods and sold by global filter producers.

    Selling Genia filter rods could be seen as pushing at an open door. These filters are price competitive and closely mimic the cellulose acetate products they are replacing, in respect of both their smoke-modifying and taste retention characteristics. But perhaps the major selling point is the fact that while carelessly discarded traditional cellulose acetate cigarette filters take up to 15 years to break down, Genia cigarette filters are biodegradable and compostable and break down within a few weeks of being discarded. Of course, McAirlaid’s emphasizes that the best option would be for smokers not to carelessly discard cigarette butts, but we are where we are, and a note on the company’s website indicates that, annually, carelessly discarded butts would fill up to 253,000 cargo containers. The number of containers that would be needed to house the butts carelessly discarded over the years that cellulose acetate filters have been widely used does not bear thinking about.

    The construction of the Genia material is important from the point of view that it does not contribute to the ever-growing problem caused by micro-plastics being released into the environment. And it is important from the point of view that cigarette manufacturers need to comply with plastics reduction regulations in certain jurisdictions—regulations that are bound to become more widespread. At the same time, the material’s ability to break down quickly is important because it reduces the risk of butts being swallowed by water-dwelling or land-dwelling creatures. And it is important from the point of view of aesthetics, given that cigarette butts have long been an eyesore for many people, though one that seems to be reducing with the reduction in smoking in at least many Western cities.

    Opportunities Ahead

    With these advantages in mind, I asked Selle whether she thought there would be good opportunities for McAirlaid’s to grow its cigarette filters business in the future even though cigarette consumption overall might go down. She started by saying that her company was currently experiencing, especially in Europe, increased demand for sustainable alternatives to cellulose acetate, something that was being driven by various factors, one of which stemmed from a new European Commission regulation, the Single-Use Plastic Directive, which was put in place in July last year. Under the provisions of this directive, there was a package-marking requirement for products that included filters containing plastic of any kind, a designation that encompassed cellulose acetate filters but not Genia airlaid filters. In addition, there was the Extended Producer Responsibility policy, which levied a littering tax on, among any number of products, cigarette filters containing plastic. Again, Genia was exempt from the requirements of this policy. At the same time, McAirlaid’s was seeing an increased demand by consumers for sustainable products, so it was likely that demand would keep increasing.

    In the U.S., the situation was different, Selle added. There, the Food and Drug Administration regulated the tobacco products sector, so moves toward the use of sustainable cigarette filters would first require the FDA to accept their use. This would come either through changes to their rules or through tobacco manufacturers agreeing to submit new cigarettes with sustainable filters through the premarket tobacco product application route. Consequently, McAirlaid’s was encouraging any U.S. tobacco company wishing to develop new products to consider a trial using Genia filters. For one thing, emerging initiatives, such as California’s proposed single-use plastic regulations, were likely to increase the momentum toward more sustainable materials.

    George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.
  • Patent for Biodegradable Filter

    Patent for Biodegradable Filter

    Image: Greenbutts

    Greenbutts has received a Canadian patent for its biodegradable filter tow technology.

    The patent adds to Greenbutts’ proprietary technology stack, offering an all-natural, biodegradable and water dispersing cigarette filter. Previously, Greenbutts obtained patent recognition in the United Kingdom and the United States.

    “Greenbutts’ mission started 12 years ago, at a time when the phrase ‘single-use plastic’ was not used as often as it is today,” said Greenbutts CEO Tadas Lisauskas in a statement. “Our dedication through extensive R&D with our world-class scientific team is now being recognized on a global scale as governments, industry and consumers are all in alignment with a green, clean future.”

    According to Lisauskas, Greenbutts’ biodegradable cigarette filter is compatible not only with traditional combustible smoking products but also with heat-not-burn products. In August 2021, Greenbutts signed an agreement to supply its biodegradable filters to Poda Lifestyle and Wellness.  

    “This patent has strategic importance to our organization as it comes in full alignment with the Canadian government’s decision to ban the manufacture and importation of harmful single-use plastics, a historic move for North America,” he said. “Our technology is a viable and sustainable alternative to cellulose acetate filters while maintaining the sensory experience, delivering the high-performance filtration capability of a traditional filter.”

    “The granting of this new IP by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office is another demonstration that the company is advancing in becoming the most strategic partner to catalyze the tobacco industry to, once and for all, migrate from single-use plastic to a planet friendly, consumer-aligned and government-supported solution,” said Greenbutts’ chief strategy officer, Luis Sanches.

  • Coming Clean

    Coming Clean

    Photo: Yakiv

    Stakeholders debate the challenges presented by cigarette litter.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    Cigarette butts are the most littered item on earth. The World Health Organization estimates that two-thirds of all smoked cigarettes are discarded into the environment. For 2021 when consumers smoked 5.21 trillion cigarettes, according to Euromonitor International, this corresponds to approximately 3.47 trillion littered cigarette butts.

    Made of cellulose acetate (CA), a polymer that is slow to degrade in the environment, cigarette filters take up to 18 years to disintegrate. In addition, used cigarette filters are full of toxins, such as nicotine, formaldehyde, arsenic and ammonia, which can leach into the ground and damage living organisms that come into contact with them.

    With regulatory pressure on single-use plastic (SUP) consumer goods increasing globally, tobacco companies hence face a new challenge: In a world where CA is still considered the gold standard for filters as far as smoking chemistry is concerned, they will have to find a way to make their products more sustainable. During a webinar staged in late April by Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM) and Essentra Filters, participants explored this and other challenges relating to cigarette filters.

    Shane McGuill

    Shane MacGuill, head of nicotine and cannabis at Euromonitor, said environmental sustainability was a double-edged sword for the tobacco industry, presenting both threat and opportunity and driven by a potent combination of consumer, investor and regulatory demand. According to his company’s research, 66 percent of consumers try to have a positive impact on the climate through day-to-day actions whereas 46 percent expect to be more worried about climate change in the future.

    MacGuill predicted that more investors will look at sustainability in tobacco; presently, around 40 percent of MSCI ESG (environmental, social and governance) indexes exclude tobacco. Between 2016 and 2018, he noted a 30 percent compound annual growth rate of ESG integration.

    In the tobacco and nicotine industries, product waste is one of the key drivers of sustainability legislation. The EU’s SUP Directive, introduced in 2021, emerged from a desire by European regulators to significantly reduce waste from cigarette butts by 2030.

    It places extended producer responsibility (EPR), a reinforced application of “the polluter pays” principle, on cigarette manufacturers to mitigate the impact of discarded cigarette butts. The regulation, MacGuill pointed out, was likely to be replicated in other regions.

    Supply chain integrity is another factor driving sustainability regulation; leaf cultivation is linked to environmental impacts such as deforestation, lack of crop diversity, chemical use and water utilization. Highlighted in the WHO’s 2017 report, these issues will likely attract increased scrutiny, MacGuill forecast.

    The most environmentally damaging stage of the cigarette production process is manufacturing and supply, for which legislation thus far has been limited. MacGuill noted that major tobacco companies have significantly stepped up self-regulation and focused on reducing their carbon and energy use, aiming, for instance, to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from their value chains by 2050. Product waste ambitions, however, currently remain largely limited to packaging.

    Increasing Awareness

    Alice Jassaud

    As end users, smokers play an important role in promoting sustainable cigarette consumption. A survey in Canada, Brazil, Germany, South Korea and France commissioned by SWM and Essentra Filters found that smokers generally are interested in sustainability, but only half of them know that filters contain plastic. Plastic content was overestimated in Germany while South Koreans underestimated it. Half of the smokers had a correct perception of the time needed for a plastic filter to decompose whereas South Koreans tended to overestimate it. According to the survey, filters were mostly dispensed in the trash or ashtrays in the countries investigated. Most smokers said they were willing to accept changes in the visual appearance of filters with accelerated biodegradability features. “There is a great opportunity for the industry to change tobacco products’ perception and their impact on the environment,” said Alice Jaussaud, product manager for filtering media solutions at SWM.

    Hugo Azinheira

    Hugo Azinheira, global innovation and marketing director at Essentra Filters, compared the biodegradability of various existing filters. In recent years, the industry has focused its R&D efforts on developing filters made of sustainable alternative materials. The sustainable filters used in the comparison, Azinheira said, were biodegradable while at the same time offering similar levels of performance and filtration as traditional materials.

    Carried out according to ISO 14855-1, a protocol to evaluate biodegradability of plastics under controlled composting conditions, the test compared biodegradation to reference cellulose after 105 days. While 100 percent of the reference cellulose had decomposed after this period, only 8.7 percent of CA had disintegrated. The latter item was the only one still visible at the end of the test. The four samples made of alternative material all reached a biodegradation above 90 percent after 105 days.

    Stricter Rules to Come

    Frédérique Martinache

    Regulation trends in the EU and beyond indicate that there is a strong political will on sustainability issues, said Frederique Martinache, product compliance senior specialist at SWM. Since 2014, the U.N. Environmental Assembly (UNEA) has been calling on states to address the environmental impact of marine plastic litter and pollution of SUP products. Regulatory approaches include imposing SUP bans, implementing taxes and/or economic incentives for sustainable alternatives, introducing EPR schemes and setting product standards and labeling requirements.

    In March 2022, UNEA member states agreed to propose by 2024 a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution on land and in the water. Cigarette butts are the most common plastic litter on beaches. They represent a major hazard for marine life as animals can ingest the trash, exposing them to harmful chemicals. These can also make their way up through the food chain, threatening human health on a global scale.

    To promote the development of regulatory strategies that specifically address the impact of cigarettes on human health and the environment, the U.N. Environment Program has launched the Clean Seas campaign in which it partners with the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Article 18 of the FCTC addresses protection of the environment and the health of persons in relation to the environment. This year’s WHO World No Tobacco Day focused on the adverse impact of tobacco cultivation and cigarette production and use on the environment, encouraging regulators to step up legislation, including implementing and strengthening existing schemes to make producers responsible for the environmental and economic costs of dealing with tobacco waste products.

    In the EU, tobacco filters have been required since July 2021 to bear labels informing consumers about the presence of plastic in the products, means of inappropriate waste disposal and the negative impact of littering. By Jan. 5, member states must have set up EPR schemes to fund litter cleanup initiatives, awareness campaigns and data gathering and reporting projects. Innovation and product development to provide viable alternatives to filters containing plastics are encouraged. By July 3, 2027, the European Commission shall propose binding measures to reduce the post-consumption waste of plastic filters.

    For the time being, the greatest regulatory pressure on filters comes from the EU and Norway, which has also implemented the SUP directive. But other jurisdictions are mulling measures as well. The U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for example, is considering the adoption of an EPR scheme. In the U.S., the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 intends to phase out throwaway plastics made from fossil fuel, hold the plastic industry responsible for its waste and pause construction on any new plastic-making plants. Apart from this federal legislation, there are a number of state initiatives. While Canada is contemplating regulation, the Australian government in 2021 launched the National Plastics Plan, which calls for an industry-led cross-sectoral stewardship taskforce to reduce cigarette butt litter in Australia.

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Pure Play

    Pure Play

    Photo: Essentra

    Filter manufacturers consider their strategies in an increasingly challenging environment.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    In October last year, Essentra fueled speculation about the future of its filter business: The Singapore-based company, which manufactures plastic caps, work-holding clamps, fasteners and knobs, said it was studying strategic options for two of its three divisions, cigarette filters and packaging, in an attempt to become a “pure play” components business over time. The review is expected to conclude by the end of June 2022 at the earliest. Since the announcement, the company has appointed several new people to key positions, including Robert Pye as Essentra Filters’ managing director.

    SK Low

    “A strategic review normally covers the full range of strategic options for a business, i.e., the best structure for that business to reach its full potential and deliver value for shareholders,” explains Seng Keong Low (SK), global marketing manager at Essentra Filters. “These reviews can include a number of potential outcomes including sale, demerger and other outcomes. We don’t yet know what the outcome of the filters review will be, and no decisions have been made regarding any of the divisions. The filters business will still be in operation, just that it may or may not be under the banner of Essentra pending the outcome of the strategic review. The most recent appointments to the global filters leadership team are longtime filters leaders, which were decided before the announcement of the strategic review.”

    According to the company’s 2021 pre-close trading update, the filter division performed well in the fourth quarter of 2021, with revenue up 22.3 percent during that period. “The division continues to benefit from higher volumes from outsourcing contracts and a strong performance in Europe,” the update said. “Further progress has been made in the delivery of its ‘game changers’ with the China joint venture continuing to gain momentum after successful commencement in June. Our range of proprietary eco and heated-tobacco products continue to attract increased interest. The number of projects underway continues to grow.”

    At the end of 2019, Essentra announced the establishment of a joint venture in China, China Tobacco Essentra (Xiamen) Filters, which launched in June 2021. Shareholders in the joint venture are Essentra with 49 percent, China Tobacco Fujian Industrial Co. with 21 percent, and three Chinese investment management companies holding ten percent each. The JV manufactures specialist and next-generation filters locally at a new facility in Xiamen in Fujian province.

    Tackling Logistics

    While awaiting the outcome of Essentra’s strategy review, filter manufacturers must navigate the ongoing global logistics crisis, which has led to a shortage of shipping containers, significant in freight rate hikes and delays in the supply chain. “We have been working closely with all partners covering long-term plans that required more accuracy than before,” says Hyunyoung Park, sales and business development manager at Taeyoung Industry Corp. in South Korea. “Nevertheless, other activities, such as keeping a high level of stock or production capacity build-up, can help to mitigate the delivery issue. However, it is affecting factory operation severely.”

    Essentra says it is experiencing extended lead times on deliveries from many suppliers. “To ensure supply continuity, we are working several BCP (business continuity planning) plans, e.g., holding more safety stocks, working on finding more local solutions, etc.,” says SK. “To minimize supply disruption and delay to our customers, we are doing additional pre-build where possible, making advance bookings for deliveries and driving more end-to-end synchronization of our materials planning with finished goods delivery.”

    In addition to supply chain challenges, the price of raw materials, including wood, has risen significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Wood, of course, is the basis of cellulose acetate tow used in cigarette filter production. “We have seen increases across our raw materials as well as other commodities, from packaging materials to spare parts,” says SK. “The increase in wood prices has affected our plug wrap suppliers, acetate tow suppliers, packaging and pallet suppliers. We are also seeing significant increases in power prices.” Because of these developments, Essentra Filters had to raise prices in 2021. “We have to find the right balance in accepting and passing on any price increases and constantly evaluate our positions with both suppliers and customers given any potential changes in the pandemic situation around the world,” says SK.

    Park has also observed an impact on prices due to the logistic and raw material situation. “Raw material price is affecting not only our factory operation but [those of] other manufacturers as well. However, the cost of logistics is underlying geographical influences, which made it difficult for the export business and increased chances to find alternative suppliers for cost saving or minimizing cost impact, and these activities will concern all manufacturers involved in the cigarette business except major players.”

    Growing Importance

    Another theme affecting the filter sector is sustainability. In July 2021, more parts of the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive entered into force. While cigarette butts have been exempted from the rules for the time being, a provisional agreement in the legislative process seeks to further encourage innovation in the development of sustainable alternatives to plastic-containing tobacco filters through the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR).

    EU member states have until Dec. 5, 2023, to set up EPR schemes for tobacco filters, but to date, there is no implementation guidance for member states. Since July 3, 2021, all packs of filtered tobacco products in the EU have been required to display a pictogram against littering.

    Legislators in other jurisdictions are considering similar measures. In February 2022, Californian lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban the sale of single-use cigarette filters and vapor products. Under the bill, sellers would risk fines of $500 per violation, defined as the sale of one to 20 items. Ninety percent of the approximately 12 billion cigarettes sold in California each year are filtered. The state spends millions of dollars annually on cleaning up cigarette litter, according to proponents of the ban.

    “Sustainability has always been important to us at Essentra Filters, and we have long had nonplastic filters in our product portfolio,” says SK. At the end of last year, the company added two new varieties to its sustainable filter range: the ECO Active Filter, a plastic-free alternative to active carbon acetate filters that is 100 percent biodegradable, and the ECO Flute Filter, a nonplastic alternative to the company’s Combined Performance Superior Filters. The design of the Flute Filter is customizable for length, circumference, pressure drop and flute length and can be combined with other filter segments. “Our new ECO range is currently the largest step change in our sustainability efforts, and with an increasing number of customers asking us about sustainable, nonplastic filters, we are confident that investing our innovative efforts in sustainability is the correct strategy,” says SK.

    Park, who in a previous interview mentioned that Taeyoung’s research and development department was working on filter development with nonacetate tow and carrying out studies on the replacement of conventional filter materials, said that the company had made progress with that initiative. “However,” he added, “market feedback is more important for actualization. I believe this kind of development is continuing under rapidly changed business circumstances including environment, social, governance criteria.”

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Btomorrow Ventures Invests in Philter Labs

    Btomorrow Ventures Invests in Philter Labs

    Photos: Philter Labs

    Btomorrow Ventures (BTV) will make a follow-on investment into Philter Labs, after leading the round for the Preferred Series A.

    Philter Labs supplies micro-filtration systems for the cannabis and nicotine markets with its patented Particulate Capture Technologies (PCT) for standalone handheld filters and next-generation vaping devices that removes particulates, airborne contaminants and odor from secondhand smoke and exhalant.

    “We are delighted to have Btomorrow Ventures continued confidence and financial support,” said Christos Nicolaidis, CEO of Philter Labs, in a statement. “We will use the funds to support new product launches in the first quarter of 2022 along with furthering our development of exciting new products that incorporate our patented filtration technology to be launched later this year.”

    Philter Labs says it has a robust new product pipeline, with several products planned to launch this year and next. All of these products are designed for ease of consumer use in eliminating secondhand smoke, with a focus on collective social responsibility for more conscious consumption.

    BTV is the corporate ventures unit of BAT. Established early in 2020, BTV invests in high growth businesses, from seed funding to those looking for further, series B investment.

    Tobacco Reporter profiled Philter Labs in its September 2020 issue.

  • UN to Raise Awareness of Microplastics Impact

    UN to Raise Awareness of Microplastics Impact

    Photo: miklyxa

    The UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) will launch a social media campaign to raise awareness about the environmental and health impacts of microplastics in cigarette butts, the United Nations reports on its website.

    Cigarettes are the most discarded waste item worldwide. Globally, more than 6 trillion cigarettes are produced annually, each containing filters, or butts, that are mainly composed of microplastics known as cellulose acetate fibers.

    However, cigarette butts that are not properly disposed of get broken down by factors such as sunlight and moisture, thus releasing microplastics, heavy metals and many other chemicals, according to the UN.

    Cigarette butts account for more than 766 million kilograms of toxic trash each year. They are also the most common plastic litter on beaches, making marine ecosystems more susceptible to microplastic leakages.

    When ingested, the hazardous chemicals in microplastics cause long-term mortality in marine life, including birds, fish, mammals, plants and reptiles. 

    These microplastics also enter the food chain and are associated with serious human health impacts, which can include changes to genetics, brain development, respiration rates and more.

    The social media campaign will aim to engage influencers, as well as UNEP’s Goodwill Ambassadors and Young Champions of the Earth.

    It will also include a political advocacy angle by highlighting a recent European Union directive that requires all tobacco products with plastic filters to be labelled clearly. The goal is to encourage the public to advocate for similar changes globally.

    “The Secretariat of the WHO FCTC has the technical expertise of the impact of tobacco products on not just human health but also on environment,” said Atif Butt, UNEP’s chief of public advocacy. 

    “By joining UNEP’s and the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC’s expertise together under the Clean Seas activation on microplastics, we aim to highlight how our health is intrinsically linked to that of our planet.”