From The Workshop & The Market

Not every pouch that says 'recyclable' survives real-world sorting. Here is a practical checklist pet food brands can use before putting a recyclability claim on shelf.

Recyclability claims on pet food packaging are under more scrutiny than ever. US state laws, the EU PPWR, and the FTC Green Guides all ask the same question: can a reasonable consumer actually recycle this package? Before approving a claim, check five things. First, identify the material structure: mono-PE, mono-PP, and paper-only designs are the easiest to verify; multi-material laminates are rarely recyclable curbside. Second, look for a recognized label such as How2Recycle Store Drop-Off in North America or the relevant national sorting instructions in Europe — not just a chasing-arrows symbol. Third, confirm the adhesive, ink, and zipper are compatible with the target recycling stream; these details determine whether the package is accepted. Fourth, ask your converter for test evidence or a third-party recyclability assessment, because retailer vendor guides increasingly require documentation. Fifth, write the consumer-facing claim narrowly: 'recyclable through store drop-off where accepted' is more defensible than an unqualified 'recyclable' statement. Getting these five points right protects both brand trust and legal exposure.

Grease-proofing PFAS are gone from US food packaging, including pet food bags. Here's the documentation exporters need as state bans keep expanding.

The US Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that grease-proofing materials containing PFAS — the so-called "forever chemicals" — are no longer being sold for food-contact use in the United States, explicitly including pet food bags. The agency revoked 35 food-contact notices for PFAS oil-proofing agents, and the compliance window for exhausting old inventory closed on June 30, 2025. States are moving even faster: more than a dozen now restrict PFAS in food packaging on their own schedules, from Maine's plant-fiber ban in May 2026 to Minnesota's broader phase-in running through 2032. For pet food brands, the practical takeaway is simple: ask your packaging supplier for a written PFAS-free statement, full material composition disclosure, and third-party test reports — and keep them on file before your next print run.

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies from August 12, 2026 — with recyclability targets by 2030. What it means for pet food brands selling in Europe.

The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) entered into force in February 2025 and generally applies from August 12, 2026 — the same date strict EU limits on PFAS content in food-contact packaging take effect. Under the PPWR, packaging placed on the EU market must be designed for recyclability by 2030, and eco-modulated EPR fees will reward designs that recycle cleanly while charging more for those that don't. For pet food brands selling in Europe, mono-material PE and PP structures, clear material labeling, and PFAS-free design are quickly moving from marketing choices to compliance requirements. Brands that redesign now will pay lower fees later — and can say so on the label.

ExxonMobil and Bandera show conventional blown-film lines can now produce recyclable all-PE pet food pouches with PET-like stiffness — a cost milestone for sustainable packaging.

One of the biggest barriers to recyclable pet food packaging has been cost: the machine-direction-oriented (MDO) films used to give all-PE pouches PET-like stiffness required specialized, capital-heavy extrusion equipment. That changed in July 2026, when ExxonMobil's Signature Polymers and Italian extrusion maker Bandera demonstrated a fully recyclable all-PE pet food pouch produced on a conventional blown-film line — with stiffness, optical clarity, and barrier performance comparable to traditional PET-based structures. For brands, the significance is simple: more converters can now offer genuinely recyclable high-barrier pouches without premium tooling, which means mono-material packaging is about to get noticeably more affordable across the industry.

At the world's largest pet trade fair in Nuremberg, lightweight, recyclable, and PFAS-free pet food packaging set the agenda. The takeaways for North American brands watching from home.

Interzoo 2026 (May 12–15, Nuremberg) confirmed where the pet packaging market is heading. Coveris unveiled a PFAS-free, mono-material pet food range — including a lightweight Opti Weight pouch that cuts material use and packaging-related taxes, and a metallized high-barrier PE film for premium kibble — developed explicitly ahead of the EU's August 2026 PFAS limits. UFlex showcased the full breadth of recyclable formats: block-bottom bags, handle bags, zipper pouches, spouted packs, and retort packs. The consistent message across exhibitors: grease resistance, long shelf life, and recyclability no longer compete with each other. North American buyers should expect the same demands — PFAS-free statements and recyclable structures — to show up in retailer vendor guides on this side of the Atlantic within the next two cycles.

New market research puts global pet food packaging at $12.3 billion in 2025, growing 5.7% a year. Bags and pouches lead the way — and recyclable designs are winning the shelf.

Market analysts now project the global pet food packaging market to grow from $12.3 billion in 2025 to roughly $18 billion by 2032, a 5.7% CAGR. Dry food remains the largest category, and bags and pouches are the most valuable format at nearly $6 billion — confirming that flexible packaging is where pet brand competition happens. Europe led revenue in 2025, but the fastest pressure is regulatory on both sides of the Atlantic. One warning sign for buyers: food-grade recycled content is scarce, with major converters reporting single-digit percentages of PCR in flexible pet packaging against 25% targets. Brands planning "made with recycled content" claims should lock in supply conversations early — and consider mono-material recyclability as the more achievable 2026–2028 differentiator.

A California class action against major pet food brands over "forever chemicals" in packaging is nearing class certification. What DTC brands should learn before it reaches their shelf.

A federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California against The J.M. Smucker Co. and Post Consumer Brands — alleging that PFAS in pet food packaging contradicted "healthful" marketing claims — moved closer to class certification in late 2025, with the judge calling the plaintiffs' reliance theory plausible at this stage. Whatever the final outcome, the signal for emerging brands is clear: packaging composition is becoming a consumer-trust and litigation issue, not just a compliance footnote. The defensive playbook is inexpensive: source from manufacturers who provide written PFAS-free and food-contact declarations, keep migration and composition test reports on file, and make sure any "safe" or "natural" claim on your pouch can be backed by documentation. Transparency now costs a phone call; the alternative costs a lot more.

While Congress debates federal PFAS bills, US states are already enforcing their own packaging rules. A practical map of the 2025 landscape for pet food brands selling nationally.

Selling pet food across all 50 states in 2025 means complying with a growing patchwork of state packaging laws. Minnesota's full ban on PFAS in food packaging took effect January 1, 2025 — the first phase of "Amara's Law," which broadens to all consumer products by 2032. Oregon and Rhode Island bans followed the same day, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs in Colorado, Oregon, and California began shifting packaging-end-of-life costs back to brands, with fees increasingly modulated by recyclability. Meanwhile the proposed federal Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act would restrict intentionally added PFAS in food packaging within two years of enactment. The strategic conclusion for pet brands: design to the strictest state standard, not the average one — mono-material recyclable structures with documented PFAS-free status clear every bar currently on the table.

A major European converter replaced non-recyclable multi-material laminate with a mono-PE structure — keeping high-barrier performance for kibble. Proof that recyclable and high-barrier now go together.

In June 2025, packaging group Mondi and pet food producer Saga Nutrition launched a mono-material recyclable packaging solution for dry pet food bags, replacing conventional non-recyclable multi-material laminate while preserving the high oxygen and moisture barrier that kibble requires. The launch matters because it answers the skeptical question brands ask most often — "can recyclable packaging really protect my product as well?" — with a commercial-scale yes. It also previews where the whole market is heading: by 2026, trade fairs from Interzoo to FachPack were filled with mono-PE and mono-PP pet food structures. For North American brands, the takeaway is that recyclable dry-food bags have crossed from pilot projects to proven, orderable reality.

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation officially entered into force on February 11, 2025 — setting a hard legal clock toward recyclable-only packaging by 2030.

February 11, 2025 marks the day the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) entered into force, converting years of political negotiation into binding law that generally applies from August 12, 2026. Unlike directives that governments transpose at their own pace, the PPWR is a regulation — directly binding in every member state. It requires all packaging placed on the EU market to be designed for recyclability by 2030, imposes strict limits on PFAS in food-contact packaging from August 2026, and ties producer fees to recyclability performance. Pet food brands with European distributors should treat 2025 as the design year: artwork changes, structure changes, and supplier declarations all take months, and the brands that start now will face the 2026 deadlines as a non-event.

The FDA made the PFAS phase-out official: 35 grease-proofing food-contact notices lost effectiveness on January 6, 2025, with a final sell-through deadline of June 30, 2025.

On January 6, 2025, 35 food-contact notices (FCNs) authorizing PFAS-based grease-proofers for paper and paperboard food packaging formally ceased to be effective — the administrative end point of the FDA's 2020-2024 phase-out. The agency granted a short sell-through window, and June 30, 2025 became the compliance deadline for exhausting inventory of PFAS-containing paper packaging. For pet food brands the timing was consequential: PFAS grease-proofing had been common in paper pet food bags and fast-food style wraps, so any brand still sourcing fluorinated paper packaging needed to requalify suppliers by mid-2025. The replacements — silicone coatings, water-based barrier systems, and inherently grease-resistant papers — are now the market default. If your paper packaging supplier cannot state PFAS-free status in writing today, that is a red flag worth acting on.

Late 2024 saw the EU formally adopt the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — the most consequential packaging law in a generation. Here's what it locks in.

In the closing months of 2024, EU institutions gave final approval to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the successor to the 1994 packaging directive and the first EU-wide law to make recyclability a hard design requirement. Once it entered into force in February 2025, the countdown began: from August 2026 the regulation applies directly, packaging must be recyclable-by-design by 2030, PFAS limits in food-contact packaging take effect, and empty-space ratio rules push brands toward right-sized packaging. For pet food exporters, 2024 was the year to start structural transitions — and indeed, converter order books for mono-material pet food structures filled quickly through 2025. The lesson for brands entering Europe now: recyclable mono-material design is no longer a differentiator to consider, it is the entry ticket.

A flexible pouch that says "recyclable" must survive real-world sorting. How labeling programs and store drop-off streams shaped honest claims in 2024.

In 2024, the most credible recyclability claim for flexible pet food packaging in North America remained the How2Recycle Store Drop-Off label. The logic is practical: polyethylene films — including mono-PE pouch structures — are not collected curbside in most municipalities, but roughly 18,000 US and Canadian retail locations collect them in store drop-off bins alongside grocery bags. Brands learned three lessons during the year. First, label accuracy matters: the FTC's Green Guides require claims a reasonable consumer can substantiate, and several high-profile complaints targeted film packaging labeled recyclable without qualification. Second, design for the actual stream — labels, adhesives, and inks must be compatible with PE film recycling. Third, pair the label with a narrative: shoppers convert a small orange Store Drop-Off logo into brand trust when the back of the pouch explains it in one honest sentence.

The 2024 announcement that closed the era of "forever chemicals" in US food packaging — including pet food bags — and set the template for everything that followed.

In 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration announced that grease-proofing materials containing certain PFAS were no longer being sold for use in food packaging in the United States — a list that explicitly included pet food bags, alongside fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, and take-out containers. The announcement capped a voluntary phase-out begun in 2020, when FDA scientists published safety reviews linking 6:2 FTOH and related compounds to persistent metabolites, and manufacturers agreed to stop sales. The agency's human foods commissioner called it the elimination of a major source of dietary PFAS exposure. For the pet industry, 2024 was the pivot year: brands began asking suppliers for PFAS statements, retailers began writing it into vendor standards, and the litigation wave that surfaced a year later showed how costly silence could be. Every PFAS-free claim on today's pet packaging traces back to this transition.