Press & Media
We’re proud of our coverage in industry & leadership media

Wes Carter in The Post & Courier: Finding Common Ground on Conservation
Finding Common Ground on Conservation: A Call for Bipartisanship In a recent op-ed piece for The Post and Courier, Wes Carter, President of Atlantic Packaging, sheds light on a hopeful paradox amidst the intense political divisions of our time. While citizens may be...
Spotlight on BW Converting’s PCMC brand Fusion C
At Atlantic Packaging, we take immense pride in our 80-year legacy as a family-owned, privately held company in the packaging industry. As one of the largest family-owned companies in this space, we are constantly seeking innovative solutions to support our growth,...
Forbes Feature: Our Commitment to Nature in the Workplace
At Atlantic Packaging, we believe that integrating nature into our workspaces is essential for the well-being and productivity of our employees. Our recent feature in Forbes, Employers Giving Workplaces Greater Exposure to Nature, highlights our innovative approach to...
Atlantic Packaging Winner of 2025 Palmetto Workforce Vitality Award
We are proud to be chosen as the winners of the 2025 Palmetto Workforce Vitality Award recognizing organizations championing health and wellness in the workplace. Atlantic Packaging president and founder of A New Earth Project, Wes Carter, was in attendance at the SC...
Atlantic Packaging Chosen for NC Culture of Wellbeing Award 2025
Atlantic Packaging Wellness Program Director, Becca Schusler, receives the award from Jon Rankin, CEO/President of the North CarolinaBusiness Coalition on Health, March 2025We are so proud to be chosen for the 2025 NC Culture of Wellbeing Award by the NC Business...
Paper-based Blister Packs Highlighted in Packaging World
Paperform: A Sustainable Alternative to Single-Use Plastic Blister Packs We are thrilled about the launch of our innovative Paperform, a sustainable alternative to traditional single-use plastic blister packs. This groundbreaking product was recently showcased at PACK...
Wes Carter Recognized as One of Charleston’s Most Influential Leaders
We’re thrilled to announce that Wes Carter, President of Atlantic Packaging, is featured in Charleston Business Magazine’s January issue as one of the 50 Most Influential Business Leaders in Charleston, South Carolina, for 2024! A Significant Achievement This...
Atlantic Contributes to the Largest Conservation Easement Project in South Carolina History
We are proudly supporting the largest conservation easement project in South Carolina history, dedicating over 62,000 acres of the Pee Dee Basin to permanent protection. The $50 million grant, administered by the U.S. Forest Legacy Program and supported by Atlantic...
SC BIZ MAGAZINE NAMES WES CARTER AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Atlantic Packaging President Wes Carter is one of the most influential business leaders in the state of South Carolina. SC Biz Magazine, a publication released every two months by SC Biz News, debuted their inaugural list of the 50 Most Influential People from across...
S.C. PUBLIC RADIO FEATURES WES CARTER FOR MAKING THE SUPPLY CHAIN MORE SUSTAINABLE
Atlantic Packaging President Wes Carter was interviewed by Mike Switzer, host of South Carolina Business Review, on South Carolina Public Radio about Atlantic Packaging and his efforts in making the supply chain more sustainable. Mike has hosted and produced the South...
CRUZ COOL – TIME’S BEST INVENTIONS OF 2023
Cruz Cool is one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023. TIME featured 200 innovations this year in its annual list of the best inventions, and Cruz Cool is featured in the Reuse & Recycle category. Cruz Cool is a curbside-recyclable cold-chain cooler from Cruz Foam, a...
WES CARTER OF ATLANTIC PACKAGING ON THE CASE FOR OPTIMISM ABOUT THE NEXT TEN & TWENTY YEARS
“Case for Optimism” is a series created by Medium that highlights different ideas, breakthroughs, and innovations in order to create hope for a positive future. As part of this series, they reached out to president of Atlantic Packaging, Wes Carter, and interviewed...
ATLANTIC PACKAGING NAMED BUSINESS CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR
The North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) has announced the 59th Annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award recipients – naming Atlantic Packaging as the Business Conservationist of the Year. The NCWF is dedicated to protecting, conserving, and restoring...
ATLANTIC PACKAGING PRESIDENT WES CARTER APPOINTED TO THE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Atlantic Packaging is pleased to announce that company President Wes Carter has been appointed to The Conservation Alliance board of directors as the company’s one year anniversary of becoming a business member of the organization approaches. The Conservation Alliance...
Atlantic Partners With Garden & Gun to Highlight Sustainability Heroes
Saving the Wild South, Garden & Gun magazine’s edition for October and November of 2022, features ten unique people working to conserve Southern ecosystems. The Ten Champions of Conservation list features scientists, advocates, and changemakers working to promote...
Charleston Business Magazine
“As president of Atlantic Packaging, Carter is committed to working with brands of all sizes to transition away from environmentally problematic packaging and help rid the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers of plastic pollution.” Read more
SC Biz News
“As Atlantic continues to serve its core customers across a range of industries, the company will catalyze innovation in sustainable packaging while creating closed loops where waste becomes a resource.” Read more
Food Engineering
“Atlantic Packaging … partnered with Cruz Foam to add a lightweight solution for Wild Idea Buffalo Company. Recently, Wild Idea Buffalo replaced its expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam cooler with the biobased Cruz Cool..” Read more
Sustainable Packaging News
“Atlantic Packagin … is pleased to announce its newly designed Canopy™ Wrap system. The solution for fully curbside recyclable bundling applications replaces traditional shrink film…” Read more
Packaging World
“Canopy™ Wrap is paper alternative to shrink film. Atlantic Packaging teamed up with the Nvenia division of Duravant to make it possible to run paper on what used to be a film bundler.” Read more
The Post & Courier
“More than 62,000 acres of Pee Dee forestland … will be preserved for future generations of South Carolinians. It’s the single-largest conservation easement project in the state’s history….” Read more
The Cool Down
“Failing to use right-sized packaging also has unintended consequences such as greater freight emissions.” Read more

Medium
“As a packaging company, our most salient contribution towards a circular economy comes from creating more circular packaging systems for the packaged goods people consume every day.” Read more

Improving Plastic Recycling Viability — American Recycler
“‘People want to understand what happens to their recyclables, and we need to show them so that they can develop an appropriate level of trust in the process,” DeLoach said. ‘Municipalities and advocacy groups must work with MRFs to show how sortation actually works, mostly to acknowledge the current limitations of the system so that consumers might understand what materials they can actually recycle.'”

Sea Change: Atlantic Packaging Is On A Mission To Reduce Plastic In Our Waterways — Charleston Magazine
“To that end, Atlantic Packaging works with its clients, such as global behemoths Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Williams Sonoma, to develop sustainable packing materials, increase efficiency by optimizing technology, and drive demand by appealing to environmentally conscious consumers. This year, the company announced a partnership with Coca-Cola to create a closed-loop system to recapture and reuse stretch wrap, which consolidates the company’s pallets of soda for shipping.”

Atlantic Packaging Embracing Sustainability, Climate Action — The Business Download
“Atlantic Packaging has been at the forefront of the packaging and printing industry in North Carolina. The company began as a local newspaper before becoming one of the largest paper-based packaging producers in the United States.”

This simple solution could finally get rid of plastic six-pack rings — Fast Company
“The second layer doesn’t just make the sustainable choice a more functional one—it’s also more space for branding. The cardboard component folds down the side of the can pack, giving the brand additional visual real estate.
But ultimately, increased durability means increased functionality—and one less reason for consumers to choose plastic for their next party.”

Forget Those Plastic Rings; A Durable Paper Option Is Finally Available — Dieline
“Atlantic Packaging, a leader in industrial packaging solutions, has recently launched the latest version of its innovative beverage carrier, the Fishbone C-Clip. While Fishbone has existed for a few years, Atlantic Packaging has launched its 2.0 edition, featuring a new C-Clip design with enhanced durability and resistance to refrigerated conditions.”

Sustainable Alternative to Plastic Zip Ties — Packaging World
“Sustainable cable tie provider EVLR International joined forces with Atlantic Packaging and its sustainability initiative, A New Earth Project, to introduce FibreStrap, their sustainable replacement for plastic zip ties, in North America.”

An Accelerator for Sustainable Packaging — Charleston Business Magazine
“Many of the world’s largest CPG companies embrace this reality and are actively seeking more renewably sourced recyclable or compostable packaging alternatives. However, our conversations with these companies continues to unearth a common barrier: CPGs are struggling with the capital expenditure necessary to purchase equipment that can run these innovative products. In virtually every industry including food, building products, medical supplies, ecommerce, and everything in between, most packaging is applied using high-speed, highly automated, capital-intensive equipment that was specifically designed to run SUP. Replacing or reconfiguring this machinery presents a highly technical and expensive transition for even the largest companies.”

An Accelerator for Sustainable Packaging — Greenville Business Magazine
“Our federal and state governments have an opportunity to fast-track the transition to sustainable packaging by providing tax credits for new packaging equipment or retrofits designed to process more sustainable packaging. Federal and state tax credits to incentivize renewable energy (for example, 26 percent for solar) and electric vehicles ($7,500 per vehicle) have jump-started the transition to cleaner electricity and transportation. A 30 percent tax credit on new packaging equipment capable of running curbside recyclable or compostable packaging would prompt substantial investment in the sustainable packaging transition.”

Packaging innovations: Aldi wine bottles flatten out, Baileys bottles lighten up — Packaging Dive
“North Carolina-based Atlantic Packaging is working with Sweden-based ELVR International to exclusively introduce the latter’s FibreStrap to North America. They call it the world’s first fiber-based zip tie, which is intended to replace conventional plastic cable ties for bundling, securing or attaching items.”

EVLRI and Atlantic Packaging bring FibreStrap to the market — Packaging Gateway
“FibreStrap stands out for its patented design, offering a sustainable solution across various industries.
Crafted from renewable products, it boasts a reduction of more than 80% in carbon emissions and water usage compared to plastic ties.
This innovation aligns with the growing demand for eco-conscious products.”

Packaging innovations: Tesco takes on tubeless foil, Atlantic bones up can carriers — Packaging Dive
“Atlantic Packaging released a new version of its fiber Fishbone can and bottle carrier, the Fishbone C-Clip. It’s designed with a second carrier layer that provides extra support in instances of lost tension or moisture exposure, and it’s suitable for refrigerated environments, the company said in a news release. The product is intended to be a sturdier version of the fiber multi-pack carriers that have emerged as an alternative to plastic ring carriers.”

Fishbone C-Clip™ Launch — Packaging Connections
“‘Traditional plastic ring beverage carriers have long been problematic for our natural world and contribute to direct entanglement or ingestion threats to land and water-based species,’ said Atlantic Packaging President Wes Carter. ‘The Fishbone C-Clip™ provides a sustainable alternative and technical design that is both reliable and durable. We are excited to bring this innovation to market as we seek to deliver solutions and advocate for the transition away from problematic direct-to-consumer, single-use plastics to fiber-based, life-affirming solutions.'”

Atlantic Packaging Recognized for Climate Action — Packaging World
“Additionally, Atlantic Packaging continues to implement climate-smart strategies across key areas including renewables for logistics and material handling; energy efficiency in lighting; and zero-waste facilities. As part of an ongoing commitment to influencing its value chain, Atlantic has also been one of 20 brands enrolling key suppliers win the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transitions (S-LoCT) program, a knowledge platform and brand collaborative to collectively reach net-zero emissions by 2050.”

Atlantic Packaging rolls out second-gen beverage carrier packaging — Packaging Gateway
“Made from paper instead of plastic, the packaging is part of Atlantic Packaging’s continued commitment to eliminating single-use plastics from the packaging supply chain. The UN’s Environment Programme estimates that plastic debris kills more than 1m seabirds and 100,000 marine animals each year.”

Atlantic Packaging recognized with ‘A’ score for transparency and action on climate change — Charleston Regional Business Journal
“Atlantic Packaging has been recognized for leadership in corporate transparency and climate action by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its annual ‘A List’.
Based on data reported through CDP’s 2023 Climate Change questionnaire, Atlantic Packaging is one of 346 companies worldwide and only 29 in North America that achieved an ‘A’ out of over 21,000 companies scored.”

5 Sustainable Packaging Predictions for 2024 — Packaging Digest
“Wes Carter, President of Atlantic Packaging in Wilmington, NC, serves on the 13-person Advisory Board that will help CalRecycle implement SB 54. I recently asked him to explain how the law will impact the packaging industry. He says, ‘Ultimately, SB 54 is meant to be a catalyst for activating a greater level of collaboration between the consumer products packaging supply chain, recyclers and waste haulers, state and local governments, and individual citizens. It is a call to action. Intelligent EPR can be the framework for how we create a sustainable revolution in our world and stem the tide of packaging pollution.'”

Wes Carter of Atlantic Packaging On The Case For Optimism About The Next Ten & Twenty Years — Medium
“Wes Carter is President of Atlantic Packaging, the largest privately-owned industrial packaging company in North America. Acknowledging that his own industry has been a significant contributor to the waste crisis, Carter is on a mission to use his seat at the table to create lasting change. A recently appointed board member of The Conservation Alliance who’s also involved with the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, Carter is passionate about the possibilities that exist if consumers, businesses, and politicians work together to create a better future.”

N.C. Wildlife Federation Announces 59th Annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award Recipients — North Carolina Wildlife Federation
“Atlantic Packaging actively engages its 800 employees across North Carolina in conservation efforts, providing sustainability and conservation education to inspire more sustainable practices both at work and at home. As a leader in sustainable packaging, their influence extends to cities like Charlotte, Greensboro, and Wilmington, where they collaborate with local organizations to promote environmentally conscious practices during major events and contribute to coastal beautification. Through partnerships, investments, and outreach efforts, Atlantic Packaging impacts conservation initiatives, fostering positive change in North Carolina and beyond.”

Commentary: How South Carolina can lead the sustainability revolution — The Post and Courier
“Single-use plastic pollution is growing exponentially across the world, including here in South Carolina. By 2040, we’ll be emitting 36 million tons of plastic into our oceans every year. Although South Carolina is a coastal state with strong bipartisan support for protecting our wild places, we’re failing to solve this problem.”

Sustainability Within the Supply Chain — South Carolina Public Radio
“Our state has long been a proponent of sustainability, and our next guest’s North Carolina company has long been a part of that, with three of its nationwide locations in South Carolina. Wes Carter is president of Atlantic Packaging in Summerville, S.C.”

Atlantic Packaging Becomes First Packaging Company in North America with Approved Net-Zero Science Based Targets — Sustainable Packaging News
“Atlantic Packaging is pleased to announce that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has approved its science-based targets for reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2046. With this approval, Atlantic Packaging becomes the first North American packaging company with an approved net-zero target.”

Civil Rights To Sustainability: Atlantic Packaging Continues Its Mission Of Leading Change — Forbes
“With its integrated solutions offerings, Atlantic can help customers with their packaging from start to finish, assisting with packaging and equipment design, testing, and supply of the best materials and configurations. ‘We help our customers utilize packaging more efficiently,’ said Carter.”

Why I support regulating my industry — Trellis
“Long story short: We have tons of material to recycle, but insufficient infrastructure to recycle it, and not enough incentives for companies to use recycled or recyclable packaging materials. Consumer pressure has prompted some progress, but not nearly enough to spur the level of transition we need towards sustainable packaging, much less to improve our recycling and composting systems.”

Wilmington’s Carter family creates a packaging giant — Business North Carolina
“The packaging industry is huge, but not especially fast-growing. By one estimate it generated about $185 billion in 2021 in the U.S., and it is expected to reach $218 billion by 2027, roughly a 3% annual growth rate. The industry’s biggest companies produce corrugated cardboard and similar products. Atlantic is more specialized, focusing on what Rusty describes as the “highly consultative, technical” ends of the business such as paper conversion. That involves taking rolls of paper or paperboard from a mill and “converting” it into packaging products using die cutting and other techniques.”
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