Essentra Filters has launched ECO Active Filter, the latest product in its proprietary range of sustainable filters. Developed as an alternative to active carbon acetate filters, ECO Active is plastic-free and 100 percent biodegradable.
“Our commitment toward achieving a sustainable future has never wavered,” said Global Marketing Manager Seng Keong Low. “ECO Active is the latest offering in our ECO range of products, and we continue to innovate new, high-quality, eco-friendly products to address the sustainability requirements of regulators, customers and end consumers.”
The ECO Active Filter is customizable for length, circumference, pressure drop, carbon types or carbon sizes and can be combined with other filter segments to suit customer requirements.
Essentra is reviewing strategic options for its tobacco filters business, as it looks to focus on its component-making division for other sectors, reports Reuters.
The company, which has supplied filters to cigarette manufacturers for more than 80 years, said the review is expected to finish in the second quarter of 2022.
According to Reuters, Essentra has concluded that it should become a pure play global components business over time and that the strategic review of the filter division was the first step to achieving that.
Essentra’s filter division reported a 2.8 percent rise in revenue in the three months to September.
The company said its components business, which makes plastic molded, vinyl dip molded and metal items used in equipment manufacturing, automotive and electronics, performed strongly in the quarter.
The tobacco industry is facing heavy scrutiny and mounting regulations due to the health risks of its products.
Essentra declined to speculate on whether the firm would divest it cigarette filters business. “As of now, we are unable to comment on the final outcome of the strategic review which is targeted to conclude by second quarter 2022 as it is still ongoing,” a company spokesman told Tobacco Reporter.
Even in challenging times, filter and tow suppliers find new business opportunities in innovative nicotine products.
By Stefanie Rossel
Over the past years, manufacturers of acetate filter tow and cigarette filters have come to learn how to best cope with challenges. The continuous decline in global cigarette consumption since 2013, which also resulted in lower demand for tow and filters, has been one such issue.
Hyunyoung Park
In 2020, tobacco companies sold 5.06 trillion cigarettes worldwide, representing a decline of 3.7 percent compared to 2019, according to Euromonitor. Increasing restrictions on tobacco products as well as the rise of reduced-risk alternatives contributed to this development. “Philip Morris International’s conventional cigarette-free world mission is a big challenge to filter makers,” notes Hyunyoung Park, sales and business development manager at Taeyoung Industry Corp. of South Korea, a supplier of mono, dual and triple filters to multinational cigarette manufacturers.
The year 2020 added more trials for the tobacco industry, most notably the Covid-19 pandemic. At the ITGA’s Issues Day in November 2020, Shane MacGuill, Euromonitor’s senior head of tobacco research, said he expected combustible cigarette volume to decline further in the next five years, aided by a pandemic that left many governments scrambling to refill their coffers.
Harald Bruggeman
For the time being, the most tangible effect of the pandemic for suppliers of acetate tow is logistic in nature, says Harald Bruggeman, vice president of commercial acetate tow at Celanese in the U.S. “A challenge for the entire industry is that the global liner market remains tight with lower performance and higher freight rates that continue to climb,” he says. “To ensure supply chain security, Celanese has a global warehouse network and healthy inventory levels.”
Bruggeman notes that pandemic-related travel restrictions continue to impact business. To provide best possible service, he explains, Celanese provides remote sales and technical customer support by offering video conferences, online training, webinars, web-based software for item selection, filter and cigarette design calculations and RealWear devices, such as hands-free, voice activated, head-mounted tablets, for remote assistance.
The pandemic follows a period during which tow manufacturers were busy preparing for tighter regulation. In February 2018, the European Commission published the classification of titanium dioxide (TiO2), a delustering agent that had been used in paints and varnish, plastics, paper, printing inks and many other applications for about 100 years, as a suspicious carcinogen for inhalation. Although many scientific studies show that TiO2 does not cause cancer in humans, the classification will take effect Oct. 1, 2021. “The filter tow manufacturers are transitioning to acetate tow without added TiO2, which increases complexity in manufacturing, portfolio and supply chain,” Bruggeman says. “Celanese has completed all necessary preparations for the commercial production of acetate tow without added TiO2 at both manufacturing sites, i.e., Narrows, Virginia, USA, and Lanaken, Belgium.”
Jens Ebinghaus
Jens Ebinghaus, CEO of Swiss-based acetate tow manufacturer Cerdia, formerly Rhodia Acetow, stresses the positive side of this challenge. In November 2018, the company launched DE-Tow, a tow made of cellulose acetate that is free from TiO2. “Most of our customers have already switched to TiO2-free filter tow while others still use tow with TiO2,” he says. “Supplying both customer groups adds complexity to the manufacturing process and creates opportunities to the most flexible suppliers.” In 2019, Cerdia’s Freiburg, Germany, plant committed to invest close to $100 to strengthen its competitiveness, to foster the growing market share of specialty filters produced in Freiburg and to focus on product innovation as well as diversification.
Taeyoung Industry Corp. is developing filters with non-acetate tow and studying alternatives to conventional filter material.
Toward Increased Sustainability
While the pandemic is far from over, this summer brought about new challenges for the sector: On July 3, 2021, more parts of the European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) entered into force, banning the sale of items such as plates, cutlery, straws and cotton bud sticks made of plastic as well as food containers and expanded polystyrene cups. The directive was drafted to fight marine pollution. Although cigarette filters are among the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe’s beaches and seas, representing as much as 60 percent of all waste items, they are not among the prohibited products. Worldwide, around 98 percent of cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a bio-based polymer that biodegrades over several months to several years, depending on the conditions of the environment where it has been discarded.
Instead of the originally discussed consumption reduction targets for filter cigarettes, the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement stating that “the huge environmental impact caused by post-consumption waste of tobacco products with filters, discarded directly into the environment, needs to be reduced. Innovation and product development are expected to provide viable alternatives to filters containing plastic, and this development needs to be accelerated.” Through the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR), a reinforced application of “the polluter pays” principle, the provisional agreement seeks to further encourage innovation leading to the development of sustainable alternatives to tobacco product filters containing plastic.
More specifically, the directive will require producers to cover the costs of consumer awareness-raising measures and EPR schemes tackling the clean up of litter and its subsequent transport and treatment, the costs of data gathering and reporting, and the costs of collection of waste of tobacco filters discarded in public collection systems. EU member states have until Dec. 5, 2023, to set up ERP schemes for tobacco filters that contain plastic, but to date, there is no available guidance for member states as to how such EPR schemes should be implemented. As of July 3, all packaging of tobacco products with filters are required to be marked with a pictogram warning against littering.
“The most burning concern at the moment is the impact of the SUPD—how to deal with the directive and product solutions that are compatible with the criteria it sets out,” says Ebinghaus. “The role that biodegradability of filters and tow will play in the future depends heavily on littering regulations. Cellulose acetate is based on wood pulp, a renewable raw material. With Cerdia DE-Tow, we have already created a product that is characterized by certified rapid biodegradability. We are convinced that this topic will continue to accompany us in the future and are glad that we can already offer a future-proof solution to our customers.”
“The criteria for biodegradability under the SUP directive are not expected to be established by the EU until 2027,” notes Bruggeman. “The EC is concerned about potential misleading claims around biodegradability of filters as it could likely have an inverse effect on littering behavior. Certifications of biodegradability alone do not resolve the fundamental problem of reducing the impact of ‘littering’—thus, the measures called for in the EU SUP directive remain as important and necessary to be adopted, i.e., contribute to awareness-raising EPR, including cleanup, collection and waste treatment, and labeling requirements for cigarette packs.”
SK Low
Seeking the Gold Standard
Filter manufacturers are also busy trying to meet changing requirements for an expanding environmentally friendly products market. Taeyoung’s R&D department is working on filter development with non-acetate tow and is carrying out studies on the replacement of conventional filter material. Seng Keong Low (SK), global marketing manager at specialty filter manufacturer Essentra, explains that the greatest challenge now is to find the perfect substitute for cellulose acetate filters—“a gold standard, so to speak. While we have commercially launched paper-based filters from our ECO range, we also acknowledge that there are certain tradeoffs when using these alternative materials. That is why Essentra Filters continues to learn, innovate and improve upon these products to achieve that gold standard.” He relates that his company has several intermediary products within its portfolio of products, such as BiTech, which mixes cellulose acetate and paper, thus increasing the biodegradability of the product.
Sustainability issues aside, filter designers continue to seek innovative solutions beyond the usual range. Filter and tow makers observe an ongoing shift toward slim and superslim formats while capsule filters remain popular. “Outside of the EU, flavors continue to play a role in driving consumer demand, especially in countries like China, Japan and Korea,” says SK.
While cigarette consumption will likely continue to decrease, heated-tobacco products (HTPs) are creating new opportunities for filter and tow manufacturers. Like conventional cigarettes, HTP consumables require a—highly complex—filter. Cellulose acetate tow is found in vape products too; it can be used in e-cigarettes to prevent leakage of e-liquids. “We see great opportunities and great potential in developing and producing a broader spectrum of specialty items for more specific new-generation products and in the advancement, refinement and expansion of the [HTP] segment,” says Ebinghaus.
“We observe continuous innovation and product launches in the strong growing HTP market, e.g., PMI’s IQOS Iluma, BAT’s Glo Hyper plus, JT’s Ploom X or KT&G’s Lil Solid 2.0,” echoes Bruggeman. “Celanese partners with the major players in the HTP segment for the development of new filters for heated-tobacco sticks.”
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.
Filter manufacturers prepare to meet new environmental requirements and consumer preferences.
By George Gay
A major challenge for the cigarette filters industry this year, and, by extension, for the cigarette manufacturing industry, will involve the phasing-in of titanium dioxide-free (TiO2-free) acetate tow. In an email exchange in January, Georgi Zisov, sales director at the Bulgaria-based cigarette filters and print house company Yuri Gagarin, said that, initially, the requirement that cigarettes were manufactured with TiO2-free filters would apply only to those destined for sale in the countries of the EU where the requirement was due to come into force in October. But, he added, it would prove inefficient for tow producers, filter manufacturers and end users to deal simultaneously with both traditional and TiO2-free tow, so, starting this year, there was likely to be a push for the adoption of filters made with TiO2-free tow across all markets, something that would probably be achieved within a few years, allowing those involved once again to enjoy economies of scale. Yuri Gagarin, Zisov said, had already started trials with TiO2-free tow for a number of customers both within and without the EU.
TiO2, which is used as a bleaching agent to make tow appear whiter, is considered to be harmful to health, something that, to my mind, raises a number of questions, not the least of which has to be why, therefore, is it used in some food products and toothpaste? OK, perhaps the form used in these products is different to that used for bleaching, though, having said that, TiO2 was banned from foodstuffs in France last year.
Nevertheless, I think it is worth asking if it is believed that the health concerns raised by the addition of TiO2 to filters—where it is presumably heated but not burned during the consumption of a cigarette—is separate from or merely part of the “deadly” risk posed by inhaling the smoke from the combustion of the tobacco rod and paper? If it is considered to be part of the overall risk, it would seem to me, admittedly somebody untrained in chemistry, that the argument for removing it from the health equation does not stack up, at least at the level of the individual smoker. In this case, it would seem likely that the removal of TiO2 could be said with any degree of certainty only to change the health risk because, due to the complex chemistry involved, it would surely not be known whether that risk had been lowered or raised. There would, of course, be a better argument for removing TiO2 if it presented a known separate and additional risk, though it is difficult to understand how such a separate, additional risk could be demonstrated at this time, if ever.
And there is a side issue here. The undesirability of raising the risk is obvious, but lowering it could suggest to consumers that cigarettes were now less risky than they were previously, leading to a surge in consumption.
Georgi Zisov (right) and Onik Arabyan (left) of Yuri Gagagrin
No quick fix
None of this is to suggest that removing TiO2 is not a good idea. It probably is, but I feel that it is necessary to try to understand our motives, even if we have to admit that they are based on a gut feeling. I buy unbleached coffee filters on the basis of a vague idea that not bleaching the paper used in their manufacture might extend by a millisecond the date at which the earth’s ecosystems finally collapse under the weight of human indifference.
But perhaps that’s not fair. Asked what the main factors were that drive the global market for cigarette and roll-your-own (RYO) filters manufactured by specialist suppliers, Seng Keong Low (SK), global marketing manager at Essentra, told me that these comprised consumer preferences legislation and customer demand.
“For example, single-use plastics legislation, particularly in the EU, has brought sustainability to the forefront of consumers’ minds,” he said in an email exchange. “Due to the pending restrictions on plastic filters and the evolving consumer preferences for a more eco-friendly option, paper-based and other nonwoven alternative materials will be the future of the industry. As such, Essentra has invested our innovations efforts in finding a more sustainable option and recently launched three new plastic-free filters in our ECO range” (see sidebar).
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But things are not as simple as they might sometimes seem to be. “There has also always been an incongruous relationship between the tobacco industry and environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives,” said SK. “Despite this, we at Essentra believe in being the pioneers to drive the industry to go green by launching nonplastic alternatives to address the issue right from the source.
“However, we are also very cognizant of the fact that while providing a nonplastic alternative is a step in the right direction, it will ultimately come down to the consumers’ willingness to make the right choices as well. Based on positive indications from our own consumer research, we expect a slow start, but as more momentum and positive sentiment builds up, a snowball effect will rapidly accelerate the shift toward a green alternative.
“In the end, there is no quick-fix solution, and the initiative to educate and convince consumers will require the cooperation of and collaboration between regulators, cigarette manufacturers and tobacco products manufacturers, and we at Essentra are proud to be the ones to take the first step in this journey.”
One problem here is that consumers are not necessarily the good guys. Whereas industry players have a role to play in improving the environmental credentials of cigarette filters and in consumer education, it is only consumers who can stop discarding filter butts in an anti-social manner. The gains made by switching to more environmentally friendly filter materials are undermined if butts containing the toxic materials filtered from tobacco smoke are thrown away thoughtlessly, allowing those materials to leach out.
Legislation is one of the other issues driving change, and it must be said that there are few factors as powerful as new laws in ensuring change takes place within a reasonable time. Zisov told me that the recycling costs associated with cigarette butts containing plastic materials comprised one of the main factors that drove filter and cigarette manufacturers to look for more environmentally friendly filter materials. Currently, the amount that had to be paid to companies that recycled such butts was increasing each year, and, recently, those costs had doubled in Bulgaria.
That was one of the reasons why there was currently a lot of interest in cigarette filters formed from crimped paper, Zisov said. The filtration properties of crimped paper were not as good as those of acetate tow, but they were being improved.
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New opportunities
While the challenges posed by complying with new cigarette and filter regulations are considerable, these regulations also present opportunities. Zisov said that while the annual, global demand for the filters supplied by specialist manufacturers was currently falling, Yuri Gagarin’s volumes during the past four years had been stable and were expected to remain stable in the foreseeable future. In part, the reason for this optimism was that the company had dramatically increased its product portfolio during the recent past so while demand for its monoacetate offerings had fallen, this fall had been more than offset by increased demand for complex filters, such as hollow and dual charcoal products.
Another reason is that as cigarettes become more expensive year on year, interest in RYO cigarettes grows and with it demand for RYO filters. And while it was true that, since price was the main driver of the RYO market, demand for special RYO filters was still relatively low, interest in different specification filters was increasing tremendously in some markets, said Zisov. The suppliers of these filters to the retail market were looking for varying segment diameters, lengths and hardness along with, for instance, flavor and charcoal applications.
Of course, the existence of such diversity within what is still a relatively small volume plays into the hands of specialist filter manufacturers. Meeting such a demand takes a lot of resources and requires a skilled workforce, so the suppliers to the retail market are drawn to using specialist suppliers and thus avoiding the fixed costs of manufacturing. There is a downside to this, however, because it implies considerable investments in new technology and knowhow for the specialist filter manufacturer, and, given that such investment is being made at a time when volumes are merely stable, profits are likely to be squeezed.
While not ignoring the fact that the traditional cigarette industry has been under pressure for many years and will continue to decline, Essentra, too, sees opportunities. It predicts, for instance, an increase in demand for slimmer cigarettes and, therefore, slimmer filters in Africa with the uptake there of smoking among increasing numbers of women. In other markets such as China and South Korea, Essentra has identified an increasing demand for innovative new flavors, a demand that called out for “exotic flavored filters to cater to those evolving taste profiles.”
At the same time, demand for super slims and shaped filters was growing in China, and tobacco manufacturers were using more specialized filters to provide differentiation within their premium ranges and unique smoking experiences for their consumers.
Meanwhile, as smoking regulations become stricter around the world, opportunities were arising in respect of heated-tobacco products. “Tobacco-heated products are also becoming increasingly popular,” said SK, “with the current pandemic situation accelerating the switch from traditional smoking as consumers become increasingly health conscious. With such a potential growth opportunity available in this segment of the market, we have also invested our innovations efforts into filters that can cater to tobacco-heated products.”
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.
Essentra Filters has launched three new proprietary products—ECO Cavitec, ECO Sensation, and ECO Cavitec Sensation, delivering a plastic-free, 100 percent biodegradable alternative while maintaining the unique sensorial attributes, performance and quality characteristic of Essentra Filters.
“Although recent trends have brought the topics of single-use plastics and sustainability to the forefront of the conversations, Essentra Filters has always been committed towards a sustainable future,” says Seng Keong Low, global marketing manager at Essentra Filters.
“We have continuously been innovating new, high quality, eco-friendly products, with existing offerings such as our paper-cellulose acetate mix Bitech Filter to single-segment paper filters such as Myria and Ochre Filters. In the latest step of our sustainability evolution, our new ECO Cavitec, ECO Sensation and ECO Cavitec Sensation filters offer a plastic-free, 100 percent biodegradable alternative with unique sensorial attributes and quality performance, a true revolution in filters technology.”
The ECO Cavitec Filter is a proprietary, patent-filed, eco-friendly filter with unique sensorial attributes, reducing the efficiency of a typical paper filter to allow for a fuller flavor delivery. Manufactured using Essentra’s market Cavitec technology, the design is customizable and can be combined with any other segments, in addition to customization for the size, cavity length, number of cavities, pressure drop and constructed material, i.e. paper or other nonwoven materials.
The ECO Sensation Filter is a proprietary, eco-friendly filter option to engage the consumer with his or her senses. A capsule is embedded in the paper material during manufacturing and can be crushed at any point, giving consumers control of their taste experience. In addition to customization of capsule type, cavity size, or use of colored plugwraps, ECO Sensation Filter can be manufactured using different paper types, combined with other end segments, or make use of Essentra’s Infused technology to achieve additional sensory benefits.
A proprietary patent filed filter, ECO Cavitec Sensation is an eco-friendly filter with three unique sensorial attributes, combining the properties of non-woven materials with the Essentra’s Cavitec technology. As the capsule is free to move within the cavity, consumers can hear the capsule rattle within the cavity while feeling the vibration through the fingers.
The capsule can be crushed at any time, providing consumers flavor on demand. As with all offerings from Essentra Filters, the design of ECO Cavitec Sensation is customizable and can be manufactured using different paper types, combined with other end segments, or make use of Essentra’s Infused technology, in addition to customisation of capsule type, cavity size, or use of colored plugwraps.
Essentra FZE Co., a subsidiary of Essentra PLC incorporated in the United Arab Emirates, has agreed to pay a $665,112 fine and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and defrauding the United States in connection with evading sanctions on North Korea, according to a DOJ news announcement.
The public filing against Essentra FZE is the first-ever Department of Justice corporate enforcement action for violations of these regulations. Essentra FZE has also entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
“This is an important case as it demonstrates the FBI will not hesitate to hold businesses accountable for violating sanctions involving North Korea,” said Alan E. Kohler Jr, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division. “We will aggressively go after enterprises using front companies, false documents, or other illegal methods to evade sanctions. We want North Korea and private industry to know that efforts to dodge our laws will never be tolerated as business as usual.”
According to admissions and court documents, beginning in at least October 2017 and continuing until at least December 2018, Essentra FZE deceived banks in the U.S. and in the UAE into processing transactions for a North Korean tobacco company. Essentra FZE and its co-conspirators utilized financial cutouts and front companies to conceal the North Korean nexus, as well as falsified shipping records, according to the DOJ.
In a statement published on its website, Essentra PLC said none of the transactions were approved or known by senior management outside of the UAE and both employees have since been exited from the business.
“A very thorough and in-depth investigation has been carried out to fully understand the root cause of the issues we have seen,” said Paul Forman, CEO of Essentra PLC. “We have made a very significant investment of both time and money, which has now equipped us with enhanced protection against any potential future issues of this nature.”
Essentra’s Scientific Services facility in the U.K. has been approved as a provider of Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) testing.
The Jarrow-based laboratory is among 14 other facilities that have been commissioned by government agencies for the annual testing of all cigarette brands to the EU TPD’s requirements.
The EU TPD, which became applicable to member states on 20 May 2016, governs the manufacture, presentation, sale and advertising of tobacco and related products. It states that nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide yields must be tested in independent and ISO-recognized laboratories.
“We are delighted to be named as one of the EU’s approved labs for TPD testing, and I am proud of the significant work the team has undertaken which has contributed to this appointment,” said Mike Taylor, Essentra’s director of scientific development.
“Essentra Scientific Services was one of the first laboratories in the world to be accredited for testing tobacco products both to ISO 17025 and UKAS standards, and this additional recognition underlines our ongoing commitment to the industry.”
Essentra Scientific Services was established to conduct internal testing and R&D for Essentra’s Filter Products division, and is located near the site of the original cigarette filter factory which was founded in 1948.
Recent growth has seen the laboratory expand as a commercial venture testing combustible products, ignition propensity, tobacco, and vaping products for manufacturers around the globe.
Internal company support continues, with the laboratory additionally using its extensive scientific experience to provide analysis and technical knowledge to Essentra’s e-cigarette offering, where manufacturing has recently been relocated to the company’s site in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.
Essentra, a global supplier of specialist plastic, fiber and foam products, has launched two industry-leading e-cigarette solutions. The new e-cigarettes—a rechargeable and a disposable option—are the company’s first “full service” white-label products in the category.
Developed in response to the company’s extensive customer research and industry insights, both e-cigarettes deliver a high-performing and consistent “extraction efficiency” for optimum taste and nicotine release, according to Essentra.
“We have developed close and confidential partnerships with our customers by applying our technical expertise and analytical testing capabilities,” says Patrick Meredith, Innovations Director at Essentra. “This has allowed us to provide bespoke solutions that meet our customer’s demands.”
Essentra’s rechargeable portfolio ranges from a traditional cigarette size to a cigar size. The company also offers e-cigarette kits, which include battery units, refill cartridges and a USB charging device. Designed to be a more convenient solution for consumers, the disposable e-cigarettes will be available as a single unit or as multiples, and are packaged into a branded outer carton or blister carton.
The new rechargeable and disposable e-cigarettes were developed using Essentra’s specialist knowledge and sector expertise, including its patent-pending reservoir technology. According to Essentra, the reservoir can be manufactured without the use of processing aids such as antistatic, lubricate, bonding agent or surfactant, meaning that it does not interfere with the chemistry of the e-liquid it holds and instead ensures a more pure experience.
“As experts in specialty plastic, fiber, foam and packaging components, we can provide a complete end-to-end service while adding value and maximising efficiency,” says Meredith. “With the only independent e-cigarette testing laboratory in the industry, Essentra can guarantee consistent industry leading quality.”
