CPI Card Group Inc. (OTCQX: PMTS, TSX: PMTS) (“CPI” or the “Company”), a payment technology company and leading provider of credit, debit and prepaid solutions, today launched the Earthwise Recycled PVC Card.
The new card features up to 85 percent upcycled PVC, dependent on design, and is the third eco-focused payment card option to join CPI’s growing portfolio of products made with upcycled materials.
The Earthwise™ Recycled PVC Card (rPVC) provides a new alternative to virgin PVC in payment cards, supporting CPI’s broader mission to reduce first-use plastic in the industry and reduce plastic waste entering landfills. The card is EMV® compliant and dual interface contactless capable, enabling both contact and contactless payment. Available widely to issuers across card industry segments, the Earthwise™ Recycled PVC Card provides the opportunity to engage a growing market of environmentally-conscious consumers with a product that captures the latest in payment card innovation and the ability to feature design treatments and embellishments that are common with virgin PVC.
“PVC has always been a choice material for card manufacturing for performance and durability. With the Earthwise™ Recycled PVC Card, the switch to a more sustainable card alternative can be a natural substitution for issuers,” said Guy DiMaggio, SVP and General Manager, Secure Card Solutions, CPI Card Group. “We’re excited to introduce another upcycled innovation that will not only help to reduce first use plastic and the impact of plastic waste on the environment, it will also help issuers incorporate eco-focused cards into their portfolio that bring the familiarity of PVC.”
CPI’s Earthwise™ Recycled PVC Card is made with upcycled PVC, giving a second life to post-industrial PVC in a new function. The card has also been certified in accordance with the new ICMA EcoLabel Standard Program created by the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA). Created in response to consumer and card issuer demand for more eco-friendly payment cards, the ICMA EcoLabel Standard Program sets measurable criteria for assessing the environmental impact of cards. Categories for analysis might include reduced materials, the amount of recycled or bio-based content used in card construction, or the ability to be compostable. The voluntary program allows CPI and others to demonstrate their support of sustainability initiatives and offer their issuer clients a valuable EcoLabel opportunity for the eco-friendly cards in their portfolio.
The Earthwise™ Recycled PVC Card is the latest addition to Earth Elements™, CPI’s portfolio of EMV compliant and dual interface contactless capable eco-focused payment cards, which include, Earthwise™ High Upcycled Content Card, produced using post-industrial upcycled PETG plastic, and Second Wave®, the first to market, high quality payment card featuring a core made with recovered ocean-bound plastic.