ProStretch Initiative: keep your eyes open when buying films!

The ProStretch initiative declared war on inaccurate and dubious offers on the stretch film market 14 years ago, and quite successfully. But there is still work to be done, as not all the black sheep have disappeared from the market.

TheProStretch initiative was founded in 1997. It is organisationally linked to the Professional Packaging Association in the GKV (Plastics Industry Association) and its members are leading manufacturers and retailers of stretch films. The main objective is to achieve cooperation with customers based on trust and partnership. The impetus for the establishment was the increasingly frequent irregularities in the film market, which continue to occur today. Different “coded” offers such as the type of foil are almost illegible for customers and do not allow a comparable price comparison. Another reason is inaccurate deliveries with lower thickness or length of film. Checks carried out showed that customers received in some cases up to 30% less than they had ordered. This puts not only customers at a disadvantage, but also honest traders.

One of the first steps was to draw up a supplier’s declaration containing binding maximum deviation values. With this declaration, all members undertake to mark all the main parameters such as length, width, thickness and weight of the films directly on the packaging. This ensures comparability and transparency for customers. All ProStretch members undertake to mark their films clearly and unambiguously and, in addition, to comply with the agreed maximum tolerances.

This gives the customer the opportunity to defend themselves legally against under-delivery and the resulting financial loss. In addition, the ProStretch Initiative plans to keep customers informed on various topics, such as legislation and market developments. The environmental and economic benefits of stretch films are not to be taken lightly either.

In order to enable customers to check all the data provided by the manufacturer, a computer programme has been developed to compare the delivery with the quantity ordered. Simply open the test on the ProStretch website, enter all the data and the program will calculate the possible deviations and the economic damage incurred by you as a customer. In addition, a sample letter is offered for download to make it easier for you to file a claim with your supplier.

The initiative currently brings together more than 30 well-known manufacturers and traders who comply with the supplier declaration. However, there are still ‘black sheep’ in the market. Therefore: keep your eyes open when buying film – look out for the ProStretch logo!

Further information in German/English on this topic can be found on the GKV and IK websites.

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