Environmentally sustainable packaging – The growth of future packaging
Packaging is experiencing strong innovation by following new principles inspired by environmental sustainability, and making use of recyclable and recoverable materials.
New materials that industries can use for packaging promise to introduce many appreciable qualities at the level of consumer interaction. They will be able to take advantage of more efficient thermal properties, as well as positive effects on the environment throughout the supply chain. Plastic pollution is estimated at more than 6.5 million tons per year, making this material unprofitable for massive packaging production. Materials such as paper and cardboard that can be maximally recycled are much better suited for packaging tasks.
The packaging of the future: What characteristics must it have?
The packaging of the future is on its way to becoming even more:
● smart
● eco friendly
● biodegradable
● recyclable
● compostable
● renewable
Environmentally sustainable packaging is becoming a priority for companies looking to consolidate their market presence. Paper and paperboard promise to become the packaging players of the future and meet the company’s needs to source raw materials at every level of production. The rapid development of ecommerce will spur packaging engineering and design toward new forms and materials. Packaging is an aspect of production and trade that cuts across all sectors, as it serves both a protective and transportation function and a function of communicating corporate identity. Therefore, it must be enhanced to convey value to the target audience and meet their preferences, including environmental impact.
Technology is paving the way for-nowadays-unexpected declinations of packaging practice, making packaging materials increasingly useful and communicative. We may have smart packaging that changes color, water-soluble packaging that is totally biodegradable, packaging that can cool and heat itself.
Ecofriendly Packaging – Why it is becoming increasingly important
Packaging is an essential element not only for transportation, but also for communication and emotional purposes. Packaging therefore should be made of recyclable and reusable materials to reduce the impact on the environment, costs to the business, improve communication with its audience
Modern packaging production allows the thermal properties of packaging to be measured to improve efficiency. Among the materials that are catching on we have cellulose pulp, bagasse, bio-plastics, as well as potentially very interesting new materials such as nanocellulose, which helps to make coatings waterproof and counteract infiltration from outside.
The choice of environmentally conscious packaging becomes both a social responsibility and a marketing choice aimed at specifying the company’s concern for nature, and therefore its proximity to a target consumer group of similar needs. Brands need to become aware of the importance of packaging in consumers’ choices and what characteristics it should have to meet their preferences.
Ecofriendly packaging from a marketing perspective enables:
● Increase consumer interactions with the brand,
● encourage the use of products that make use of them
● increase appreciation for the company’s packaging choices
● Provide information aimed at encouraging purchase
● Reduce the price of products through the use of recyclable and reusable materials
How to meet the packaging needs of the future
Thanks to the potential of the digital world, packaging can be integrated in a way that connects the physical enjoyment experience with the digital experience
Net of all the benefits, it must be recognized that fully exploiting the potential of packaging requires solving engineering problems to enable smart devices to connect to packages to monitor their use and obtain more information.
With these innovations, it will be possible to reduce the need for plastics in transportation and packaging processes and to embrace more of the use of materials that can benefit from further renovations. Cost reduction due to smart packaging may lead to lower product prices and thus higher sales.
The paper supply chain is therefore moving toward getting the most value from recyclable materials through the development of new production techniques, recovering materials from paper mills and waste to improve energy efficiency.
Therefore, industrial research should be directed toward the use of materials with reduced environmental impact, and improve logistics to increase the traceability of waste and scrap. The new materials will be able to reduce the amount of waste waste that results in disposal costs and substantial procurement needs for companies. Consumers themselves demand genuine plastic-free and pollution-free areas, and to impact the environment as little as possible. Therefore, companies are moving toward a more considerable analysis of thermo-physical characteristics of materials to study how to reduce their impact on the environment.
Many industries, especially food and beverage, are designing new packaging solutions that are more practical, environmentally friendly, and biocompatible in order to reduce costs and pollution. Food packaging is actually moving a lot in this direction when it comes to environmentally sustainable packaging. We have cellulose packaging, biodegradable cans, compostable bags, eco-friendly food films. And this is just the beginning!