PACKAGING made from sugar cane was one of the attractions at this month’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The show, which was held from July 3 to 8, had as its main sponsor Ecover, the manufacturer of household products from plant based and mineral ingredients.

The company was showcasing its new packaging, Plant-astic, made entirely from sugarcane and is an industry first. The only part of the new packaging not made from plant based material is the plastic in the caps, and the company is working on that to find a more ethical material. Plastic made from plant based material like sugarcane is both sustainable and renewable as well as being recyclable.

Ecover bottles were hanging like bunches of fruit from sugarcane growing in a specially made garden at the show.

Apparently only 15 hectares of sustainably produced sugarcane can produce all the material needed for a year’s supply of bottles. The company predicts that comparative carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 75 per cent by its switch from conventional materials to Plant-astic, representing a cut of around 8kg a year off the carbon footprint of an average family