The food stretch film market mainly uses PVC, which does not biodegrade, making the material and the companies that use it, targets of environmental lobby groups. A growing number of food industry companies, including supermarkets and processors have turned to biodegradable packaging as a means of meeting consumer demand for such eco friendly products. Local and national governments in North America and Europe are also considering limiting the use of PVC products. Several European countries, Japan and the State of New York, have already introduced restrictions and legislation on the use of PVC in the food wrap industry.

Recently, a recyclable stretch film that does not use PVC has been introduced. The company marketed its polystyrene-based stretch film as a non-plasticized food wrap that was eco-friendly and recyclable, and had developed the technology as an alternative to PVC over 10 years. The plasticizer-free film has been certified by an agency set up by the Canadian government. The company has now introduced oxo-biodegradable pallet wrap samples, which have been sent for testing to one of its US distributors as a means of entering the market. This product will biodegrade and once biodegrading is complete all that remains is carbon dioxide, water and biomass, all which are part of the normal bio-cycle. Using EPI Environmental Technologies' TDPA (Totally Degradable Plastic Additive), which when incorporated into commodity plastic resins, such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS), renders the plastics degradable and ultimately biodegradable.

Many analysts believe that biodegradable packaging has a bright future. Growing environmental awareness and consumer power means that food manufacturers and packagers are increasingly being targeted to improve their environmental performances.