The terms “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” have become climate change buzzwords in recent years, with more and more brands using them in campaigns to promote their climate-saving credentials. The main problem with this is that many brands are using these terms to make themselves look good without actually changing their practices or supply chains to reflect their eco-ethos.
There are some real eco warriors out there dreaming up innovations to solve our climate woes, with consumer packaging being a key culprit, despite the greenwashing that is rife in many companies.
For many years, plastic has been widely used for packaging, as its versatility has made it ideal for safeguarding our purchases and extending their shelf life. Our penchant for online shopping contributes to the problem of plastic pollution brought to light in the Blue Planet documentaries.
10 Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
This rallying cry, which emerged at the tail end of the 1970s, is as timely today as it was then. Packaging that reduces the amount of packaging to the bare minimum, that can be reused or refilled without compromising quality or purpose, or that is fully recyclable has been a primary focus of scientists and product developers who have embraced these terms.
Though it’s been around for close to 50 years, the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mantra isn’t going anywhere.
9 The Changing Paper Industry
Paper and card have emerged as crucial components of the sustainability-in-packaging movement as an alternative to plastics. It sounds like fantastic news to me. No, unfortunately. Paper and card need to be thick and sturdy to protect and maintain the integrity of packaged items as effectively as plastic does, but this means they can’t be easily recycled and instead end up in landfills despite our best intentions to reuse them.
New materials like bamboo paper, stone paper, organic cotton, pressed hay, cornstarch, etc., are emerging as viable replacements for traditional paper and card. Construction in this region is ongoing and is expected to increase in 2022.
8 Reduce and Replace Microplastics
It’s possible to mislead consumers with some packaging. At first glance, it appears to be completely eco-friendly; there is no visible plastic, so we congratulate ourselves on our environmental consciousness. But once inside, you find the real enemy lurking: microplastic. Despite their diminutive size, microplastics pose a serious threat to human health by sneaking into our drinking water and food chains.
This year, researchers and innovators are focused on finding biodegradable, natural alternatives to microplastics so that we can use less of them and protect our waterways from the widespread harm they cause to wildlife and water quality.
7 Transition to Monomaterials
Many types of packaging, such as laminated packaging and composite packaging, contain materials that render them unrecyclable, which may come as a surprise to the average consumer. Having multiple materials fused together makes it difficult to disassemble them for recycling, so they usually wind up in the trash instead. This problem can be avoided by designing monomaterial packaging that can be recycled completely.
6 Flexible packaging
Flexible packaging will rise to prominence as more and more companies move away from using fragile materials like glass and plastic. The idea behind flexible packaging is that it doesn’t need to be made from rigid materials, so it’s easier and more cost-effective to transport a greater quantity of items at once, which in turn helps reduce emissions.
5 Compostable and Biodegradable Packaging
Many companies have spent significant time and money developing eco-friendly packaging that decomposes harmlessly in the environment. Therefore, compostable and biodegradable packaging is something of a subset.
It basically lets the packaging serve a secondary function in addition to its primary one. Compostable and biodegradable packaging is nothing new when it comes to food, but more and more clothing and retail brands are adopting it in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, so keep an eye out for it this year when you shop.
Sustainability has become a top priority interest for many organizations, including W Packaging. For our part in the sustainability process, we have worked to ensure our products not only follow EPA sustainability guidelines but EXCEED them. Our products contain recycled content, are source reduced, and compostable. All with the goal of creating truly recyclable products that have the least impact possible on our Earth. We believe it is this dedication to excellence that has allowed us to succeed.
