#WWF-Study

Not every biomass is automatically the better choice. That might sound strange when you work with plant-based raw materials, but that is exactly what a new WWF study shows, and we find it really worth reading. 🌿

The WWF, together with the ifeu Institute and GVM, looked into which biogenic raw materials are actually ecologically sensible for packaging. And the conclusion is clear: bio-based does not automatically mean better. What matters is which raw material is used, how it is sourced, and whether it competes with other important uses.

This becomes especially visible when it comes to primary wood. Europe's forests are increasingly reaching their limits, while demand for wood as a raw material for paper, packaging and energy continues to rise at the same time. The study clearly identifies this as a real conflict of interests.

Agricultural residues and bagasse tell a different story. They are generated as a by-product of agriculture, are currently often disposed of in environmentally harmful ways, and perform particularly well in the study when it comes to land use, energy and water consumption. The study explicitly names them as promising alternatives to forest-based raw materials.

That hits exactly what we are working on at eco:fibr. We produce mechanically prepared dry fibres from the residues of the pineapple plant, a plant-based residual material that is left on the field after harvest and has barely been used until now. No additional cultivation, no competition with food production, no new raw material sources. So the key question is not whether to use biomass, but which biomass, how, and for what purpose. Making targeted use of existing residues instead of drawing on new raw material sources is the approach we consider industrially relevant and scalable. 🍍♻️

If you want to learn more about what we do, feel free to follow us and stay tuned!

"WWF-Studie: Biogene Rohstoffe in Verpackungen (2025), erstellt von ifeu-Institut und GVM im Auftrag des WWF Deutschland"