Mondi and Dreco co-create powder detergent packaging with 50% post-consumer recycled content

Photograph of an adult and a child placing laundry into a front‑loading washing machine in a home laundry area.

As consumer expectations and EU regulatory demands continue to evolve, brands are accelerating the shift toward sustainable packaging solutions that combine strong product protection with measurable progress towards circularity. Dreco, in collaboration with Mondi, redesigned its powder detergent packaging to integrate 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic – without compromising moisture protection, product quality or shelf appeal. 

The challenge: ensuring moisture protection while advancing circular packaging 

Dreco needed to make its powder detergent packaging more circular without sacrificing protective performance. Key challenges included: 

  • Strong moisture resistance to keep powder detergent dry and maintain product quality.
  • Reduced virgin plastic use while ensuring durability for everyday handling.
  • Consistent print and shelf appeal to maintain brand impact.
  • Compatibility with long‑term sustainability and upcoming regulations

Reducing the environmental impact of our packaging is a key priority for us, but performance is critical for products like powder detergent. Working with Mondi has enabled us to introduce a solution that combines high recycled content with the protection our products require.” 

  • - Milo Drehsen, Owner & Managing Director, Dreco 

The solution: a packaging solution with 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content 

To address these requirements, Mondi and Dreco jointly developed a new re/loop PillowBag structure that meets sustainability and performance goals while integrating 50% mechanically recycled PCR content. The solution delivers: 

Illustration with the text “Dreco x Mondi”
  • A high-performance structure that retains product integrity without relying on high levels of virgin plastic.
  • A strong shelf presence through high-quality, consistent print results.
  • Improved consumer experience thanks to an easy-opening, user-friendly design.
  • Compatibility with polyolefin mechanical recycling streams, supporting Dreco’s circularity ambitions.
  • Full material traceability via Mondi’s ISCC PLUS mass balance certification, ensuring transparency in PCR use. 

This solution demonstrates that even moisture‑sensitive FMCG applications can successfully incorporate high levels of recycled content without compromising quality, reliability or regulatory readiness. 

Together with Dreco, we have developed a high PCR packaging solution for a moisture-sensitive application that is designed for recycling, helping our customer to prepare for regulatory requirements while meeting today’s market expectations.”  

  • - Sandor Kardos, Managing Director, Mondi Békéscsaba 

The outcome: reduced virgin plastic and a future-ready packaging solution 

Now on shelves across retailers in Germany, the new packaging solution positions Dreco ahead of evolving regulatory expectations and strengthens its sustainability credentials in the home care market. 

The Mondi-Dreco collaboration shows how circular design and performance can work hand-in-hand. By successfully integrating 50% PCR into a moisture-resistant packaging solution designed for recycling, the partnership sets a clear direction for commercially scalable and regulation-ready solutions, helping brands across the FMCG sector achieve their circular economy targets. 

 

Light blue Mondi Re/loop PillowBag packaging featuring a line illustration of folded textiles and the text “Sustainable by design”.

Moisture protection, 50% PCR.


Our re/loop PillowBag reduces virgin plastic, ensures high‑quality print and shelf appeal, and supports long‑term circularity and regulatory readiness—all without compromising product performance.

 

Why PCR matters: preparing for circularity and future regulation 

Post-consumer recycled materials originate from plastics recovered after consumer use, helping brands progress towards their circular economy targets. Sustainability and regulatory benefits: 

  • Reduces dependency on virgin polymers
  • Prepares brand for upcoming EU legislation
  • Increases transparency across the value chain 

As companies prepare for the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which sets a target of 35% recycled content from post-consumer plastic waste for this category of plastic packaging (to apply from 1 January 2030 at the earliest), integrating PCR into packaging becomes a strategic priority for brands operating in the EU.

 

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