Super-Wide Digital has strengthened its commitment to sustainability by adopting eco materials from CMYUK. The Lancashire-based company has ordered a rolling consignment of PVC-free Kavalan for its banner work as well as UFabrik ECO materials, a range of textiles made with yarn produced from recycled single-use waste plastic.
‘Certain customers are running a nice amount of Kavalan from us,’ said Super-Wide Digital’s Luke Drogan. ‘We’re holding stock, so we don’t have to worry about selling it and then not having any available. We’re ready to service everyone who wants to convert to a more sustainable solution. ‘We want to get to a point where we’re turning more people over to non-PVC-free products – banner, rigid materials or vinyl, and other eco materials – to the point where it’s actually a more cost-effective option to go green for all our clients. That’s the target we’ve set.’
Super-Wide, which is set to celebrate its 21st anniversary this September, had previously seen PVC banner and mesh as a ‘cornerstone’ of its business. ‘We’ve had to remind many of our customers that we don’t just do PVC and mesh banners, because for so many years that’s what they’ve heavily relied on us for,’ Mr Drogan added, going on to stress that his company realised that the writing was on the wall for PVC as early as 2012. ‘It was the first period where people acknowledged that there was a need to go PVC-free,’ he explained. ‘Everyone went from being a supporter of eco-friendly materials to realising it was something that was achievable at that stage.
‘The main problem has been creating banners that are more environmentally- friendly and recyclable, which has been a big issue in terms of our green credentials. It’s only now with the introduction of the Kavalan products that we have a solution we are able to offer on a large scale. We’re also able to cater for the finishing of those products, as we all know the welding and finishing of non-PVC products, up until now have been an issue.’
Super-Wide Digital is in the process of launching a dedicated website that will not actively promote PVC banner materials. ‘We will still service that market to an extent as we can’t switch it off overnight,’ Mr Drogan concluded, ‘but with every quote, we’ll be offering the alternative Kavalan base.’
