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Packaging compliance quick guide for 2026: an excerpt from The Global packaging compliance handbook for 2026, covering the regulatory shifts moving into enforcement across Europe and beyond. A practical overview of recyclability scoring, recycled-content thresholds, EPR obligations, labelling and chemical restrictions, plus the key timelines and actions brands and suppliers need to prioritise for market access in 2026.

This report by Tocco editorial team distils the final legislative text, technical annexes, and early industry responses into 5 operational pillars: recyclability grading, recycled content, reuse, waste minimisation, and chemical safety of EU PPWR. Our aim is simple: give decision-makers a clear view of what changes between now, 2030, and 2040 – and the detail they need to act in order.

A data-led deep dive into reusable packaging by Tocco team, separating hype from operational reality and mapping which reuse models can truly scale.

Discover how industries are phasing out PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals.” The PFAS-Free 2030 Edition by Tocco examines global regulations, verified suppliers, and emerging fluorine-free alternatives shaping the next era of safe, high-performance materials.

A data-driven report on non-petroleum foams across packaging, footwear, construction, and consumer goods. Defines “fossil-free,” benchmarks properties, maps certifications (EN 13432, ASTM, REACH/CLP, UL 94), profiles suppliers and case studies, and details costs, lead times, and risks, ending with a grounded 2026–2030 adoption outlook.

Vietnam has outgrown its label as a low-cost assembly line. With exports topping US$405.5 billion in 2024, trade flows now more than double the size of its GDP. Global manufacturers from Samsung to Nike, Intel to Pouyuen, anchor supply chains here, while foreign capital stock has surged past US$322 billion, driving more than 70% of the country’s exports. Vietnam is no longer on the margins of globalization, it is embedded in its core. What makes this moment decisive is the shift from assembly to capability. From robotics and smart factories to biotech and advanced materials, Vietnam is stretching into higher-value terrain, even as weak supplier depth, rising wages, and energy constraints remain. The stakes are clear: execution will determine whether Vietnam cements its role as an industrial powerhouse or stalls at mid-value production. This report by the Tocco team maps that stack, offering a clear-eyed view of Vietnam’s industrial ascent and its limits.

Electronic waste is the shadow of digital progress: 62 million tonnes generated in 2022, only one fifth recycled, and USD 91 billion in materials lost just as industries depend on rare earths, cobalt, and gold. Momentum is shifting with certified remanufactured systems, growing repair markets, and designers reframing obsolescence, yet barriers remain, from mixed plastics to weak enforcement. This report by Tocco team cuts through rhetoric to show where circular ambition meets reality, and the decisions that will shape the future of electronics.

This report explores the Nordic design mindset — from its minimalist aesthetic, born of necessity, to cutting-edge material innovation. We cover waste transformation, where timber offcuts, construction debris, and seaweed biomass become high-value products; and bioengineering, where labs develop mycelium composites and protein-based textiles.

This edition is designed to serve as a functional guide, offering both structural overview and practical orientation. It draws attention to the distinctions between regulatory mandates and voluntary schemes, sector-specific frameworks and cross-material protocols, as well as regional nuances that shape certification uptake. This report by the Tocco team distills this complex field into a working tool for professionals who require precision, not platitudes.

The initial promise of biomaterials faced significant challenges—unsustainable costs and scalability issues led many early ventures to fail. Today, the next generation of innovators is learning from these lessons, approaching business models with greater insight, targeting niche, high-margin markets, and forging key partnerships. This report by the Tocco team will provide an in-depth look at the evolution of these materials, offering a roadmap for navigating this complex yet promising landscape.

This report by Tocco explores the unfolding transformation—spanning renewable bio-based materials, circular production loops, advanced textile technologies, and the new business ecosystems knitting it all together.

This report by the Tocco team explores the facts, figures, and frontiers of recycled materials across key industries. We cut through greenwashing to highlight real progress, spotlight urgent gaps, and map out what it takes to close the materials loop for a more circular, resilient economy.

This report by Tocco enters the conversation and defines bamboo not just as a decorative tokenism, but a legitimate structural and engineered material.

This report by Tocco team focuses on waste-based materials, distinct from related concepts such as recycled, bio-based, and greenwashed materials, to clarify the nuances critical to industry professionals and designers alike. We hope to help readers navigate the evolving landscape of waste-based materials with scientific rigor and practical clarity, equipping designers, engineers, buyers, and innovators to harness waste streams, responsibly and smartly.

This report by Tocco team explores the intersections of lightweighting, solar integration, hydrogen fuel cells, smart materials, bio-based interiors, additive manufacturing, and AI-driven material innovation.

This report doesn’t celebrate “green” plastics. The Tocco team aims to map the current biopolymer field with precision. We hope to outline core material families and compares them on what really matters: performance, processing, compostability, regulation, and commercial relevance.

This report by the Tocco team explores this evolving category—Animal Origin 2.0—through a methodical, design-oriented lens. We highlight developments from the lab to the atelier: fermentation-based proteins, cell-cultured hides, and waste-stream transformations that aim to reframe animal inputs without nostalgia or exaggeration. Each case study is selected for its scientific integrity, industrial relevance, and practical design implications. Through comparative assessments and contextual analysis, the report offers a grounded survey of how animal matter is being rethought—and to what end—in the age of biodesign.

From bacteria that grow vibrant hues to algae-based inks and reactive smart pigments, innovators are pushing the boundaries of colour creation. This report shines a light on the pioneers leading the way in this transformation. From innovative startups to established industry players, the search for cleaner, more circular colour solutions is accelerating. The stakes are high, and therefore their future is promising.

This report delves into the innovations transforming timber in architecture and design. From engineered wood and smart surfaces to biomaterials and robotic-crafted furniture, it highlights how wood is reshaping modern interiors, exteriors, and material possibilities.

The Tocco Library Report presents a curated bibliography that examines this material condition with both precision and curiosity. Moving beyond trendspotting, the selection engages with the intricate dialogues between design, science, and cultural context - foregrounding materiality not as backdrop, but as a central actor in systems of production and thought.Explore the transformative power of materials through Tocco's curated book collection, where science, design, and creativity converge.

During a recent visit to the Futurium in Berlin, the Tocco team explored a collection of future material innovations, exemplifying Germany’s place in biodesign.

Biodesign 2024: New materials, technology and fabrication techniques to watch in 2024

The report invites designers to consider color as an extension of material logic. Each hue is chosen for its ability to complement bio-based surfaces, recycled textures, and tactile forms—encouraging a chromatic language that supports longevity and conceptual clarity. This report by the Tocco team reflects a commitment to thoughtful, material-led design perspectives.

The Innovation Digest: Textile Futures 2024-2025 offers a focused look into some of the most exciting and recent developments in the textile industry, with a spotlight on emerging trends such as lab-grown cotton, dye recycling, and fiber recovery.

This Tocco Report follows that transformation across five chapters. Part I examines ocean waste and its recycling into new material flows. Part II focuses on algae and their rapidly scaling bio-based chemistry. Part III turns to shells, chitosan, and fish skins as building blocks for biopolymers and leather alternatives. Part IV examines aquaculture as a biomass platform for food, fertilisers, and next-generation materials. Part V closes with the forces of the sea: energy, minerals, and current-driven systems that unlock power densities far beyond solar or wind. Together, these perspectives form a panorama of how ocean industries are scaling from niche experiments to critical infrastructures.

The Global Packaging Compliance Handbook for 2026 explains how PPWR, PFAS bans and Extended Producer Responsibility rules are being enforced across Europe, the US and Asia. A practical guide for brands, packaging teams and compliance leaders.

This report by Tocco Editorial team provides a cross-sector review of advanced materials in the year 2025, highlighting major breakthroughs, notable failures, and key lessons learned. It is written for a broad audience – from product designers and procurement managers to investors and industry experts – aiming to be instantly intelligible to non-experts while insightful to veterans.

This report by Tocco editorial team decodes all around the digital product passport ( DPP): the regulation’s structure, timelines, and global implications, translating policy into practical intelligence for manufacturers, designers, and policymakers preparing for the age of verifiable products

Explore the future of rubber and elastomers in The Rubber & Elastomers 2026 Report by the Tocco Editorial Team. This in-depth analysis tracks the global shift from Hevea plantations to bio-based synthetics such as bio-EPDM, TPU, and guayule latex. It examines market data, regulations, and innovations shaping tyres, footwear, and medical goods. From EU deforestation rules to the rise of bio-monomers and circular materials, the report decodes how performance, compliance, and sustainability converge across the $300-billion rubber economy.

Comprehensive 2030 outlook on adhesives, gaskets, and TPVs, covering technology shifts, applications, compliance, and sustainability in global manufacturing.

China now produces a third of global manufacturing output. This report explores its shift to high-tech industries and global leadership.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is emerging as a leading programmable material for 2025–2026, produced by acetic acid bacteria as a highly pure nanocellulose with exceptional crystallinity, tensile strength, and breathability. Unlike plant cellulose, it can be grown from sugars or food-industry sidestreams, making it both versatile and scalable. This Tocco report maps the current state of BC across five chapters: Pure Cultures, Sheets & Surfaces, Blended Matter, Engineered Cellulose, and Living Futures, highlighting where suppliers are already shipping material, where composites and engineered strains are extending its performance, and where speculative design is shaping new futures. It delivers a clear, evidence-based view of who is producing bacterial cellulose, how it is being applied, and which directions deserve attention now.

This report by the Tocco team dissects the core dynamics of China’s biotech boom, providing a grounded analysis of science, policy, and commerce for those navigating its reach, whether as partners, competitors, or observers.

This report by Tocco team explores the current state of packaging, the innovations transforming the industry, and the urgent need for redesign before the environmental costs become irreversible.

This Tocco Report provides an in-depth comprehensive overview of the biomaterials and biomanufacturing landscape in 2025, with a global and cross-sectoral perspective.

In this report, Tocco team maps five material verticals reshaping the leather industry. We spotlight key players, assess claims, and surface real-world data on impact and scalability – cutting through vague “eco” marketing to ask what’s truly next-gen, and what’s just next.

The Tocco team is writing about graphene now as we are entering a new chapter, one where early expectations are being recalibrated, and practical applications are finally beginning to emerge. Our goal is to bring clarity to that shift: to help separate signal from noise, momentum from marketing, and evolution from overstatement. Whether you’re designing products, planning R&D roadmaps, or simply scanning the horizon for what’s next, this is a landscape worth understanding, not for the buzzwords, but for the deeper material movement they often obscure.

In this report, the Tocco team explores the cutting edge of lightweight materials, from carbon fibre composites and aluminium alloys to bio-based composites and nano-materials, that are driving performance, efficiency, and innovation.

This report by Tocco team explores the evolving role of foam materials across industries—how their composition, performance, and environmental impact are being redefined. We investigate innovations in bio-based foams, recyclable alternatives, and circular design strategies that challenge the dominance of petroleum-based standards. At a time when softness can no longer come at the cost of sustainability, foam is being reimagined from the inside out.

This report by Tocco takes a critical and comprehensive look at recent algae-based material innovation. Our goal is to assess not only the scientific and commercial progress, but also the cultural momentum driving algae to the centre of material discourse. Is the hype justified? In many cases, yes, but not without caveats. We explore both the promise and the practical limits of this field, grounding our analysis in data, design relevance, and industry context.

Nature has spent 3.8 billion years perfecting solutions - now, designers are harnessing its intelligence. This report explores breakthroughs in biomimicry, from self-healing materials and bio-integrated cities to AI-driven design, proving it’s more than a trend, it’s a technological shift.

A New Nordic Narrative : once defined by clean lines and quiet elegance, Stockholm Design Week is now a stage for something far more layered. Running alongside the Stockholm Furniture Fair, this year’s edition revealed a design scene in flux, less about rigid minimalism. This is a recap of the Tocco team from the Stockholm Design Week 2025. Tocco joined Industrial Design Community, Electrolux Group and PX-Lab, and 100+ industrial designers at A house Katarinahuset to discuss early-stage products, materials, and prototypes for better, bolder products for homes.

An exploration of cotton's transformation from tradition to innovation, revealing its hidden environmental costs and future potential. This report threads together the past, present, and a vision for a more conscious textile future.

This report explores the impact of 3D printing across architecture, furniture design, and space exploration, highlighting its innovations and challenges.

A deep dive into China’s biotech evolution, where AI, biomanufacturing, and policy are reshaping materials and innovation.

PPWR, Single-Use Plastics Directive, Global Plastic Treaty, Plastic Tax Regulation, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Laws etc. — how are all of these impacting the Packaging Industry in Europe?

Download the Map of Future Materials Innovators, champions who showcased their innovations at Future Matters 2024 to get a glimpse of the future of biodesign and biomaterials.