Sony to Develop Sustainable Paper Material "Original Blended Material" from bamboo, sugarcane and post-consumer recycled paper

Sony Group Corporation and Sony Corporation (“Sony”) have developed "Original Blended Material," an environmentally conscious and sustainable paper material made from bamboo, sugar cane fibre and post-consumer recycled paper, whose origins are specified.

Original Blended Material is a recyclable, durable and strong paper material that does not use any plastic. Sony has adopted this material for the packaging of WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones, which is uncoloured to take advantage of the various shades of the material. Sony intends to adopt this material for the packaging of further select products.

Made from bamboo, sugarcane and recycled paper

Paper made of Original Blended Material

Package of WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless Headphones

Bamboo

Bamboo is a plant with a short growth cycle, similar to sugarcane. Only the necessary amount is sorted and cut down to ensure the entire bamboo mountains retains a sustainable growing cycle, reducing the impact on nature. In addition, the bamboo used for Original Blended Material is cultivated in three mountains in the Guizhou Province, China, and is a different type of bamboo than the one used as a food source by the pandas that live in these mountains.

Sugarcane

The pomace of sugarcane that is leftover in the process of producing sugar is used. Most sugarcane pomace is burned as fuel for power generation and causes carbon dioxide emissions. By adopting it as Original Blended Material, it can be used as a recyclable resource. Only the pomace of sugarcane cultivated in fields within a radius of 100 km of Nakhon Sawan, Thailand is used.

Post-consumer recycled paper

Original Blended Material is environmentally conscious, using post-consumer recycled paper. Recycled paper is procured in the area where packages made from Original Blended Material are produced. In addition, the strength of the material is increased by combining the recycled paper with bamboo and sugarcane fibre. Recycled paper can provide a unique design by making the best use of the colour of recycled paper, without adding any colouring.

Original Blended Material, which was developed with a unique combination of bamboo, sugarcane fibre, and recycled paper, is both strong and highly durable, offering the potential for a wide range of uses. And by changing the blending ratio, it can be made into a variety of shapes, ensuring wide and versatile use. In the packaging of WF-1000XM4 Truly Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones, Original Blend Material is used throughout, so it can be recycled entirely without sorting*.

* This product packaging is recyclable only in the communities that have appropriate recycling programs.

Since it can be embossed, it is also possible to further improve environmental attributes by incorporating characters into the design without the use of ink.

Examples of use

Embossing

By sharing the origins of Original Blended Material, Sony also aims to create opportunities to consider its environmental initiatives with customers.

Sony continues to promote packaging that eliminates plastics through initiatives such as using Original Blended Materials, toward the "elimination of plastic packaging from newly-designed small products" set in its medium-term environmental targets "Green Management 2025".