As consumers continue to become more environmentally-aware, product packaging providers need to follow suit and begin offering smart, sustainable packaging that can appeal to customers – while still respecting our environment.
Sustainability has been a common topic of discussion in packaging for a long time – but it’s still a hot topic in the industry, and a survey conducted by Packaging Strategies showed that 54% of surveyed professionals believed sustainability was the biggest trend in product packaging. So, in this article, we’ll take a look at a few trends which may drive sustainable packaging in 2019.
Using Different Product Packaging for Online Orders
When customers shop online, they are “window shopping” without even looking at the package that a product comes in. That means that there is no reason to spend a lot of money – or expend unsustainable resources – on developing flashy packages for products that are primarily ordered online.
AmazonBasics is a good example of this. Amazon’s in-house brand of essential items uses plain, brown packaging, in most cases – without fancy plastics or inks.
This allows the brand to minimize packaging costs, and customers seem to be fine with receiving a plain, mostly-unmarked package. It would not surprise us to see this style of packaging adopted by other online companies.
100% Recyclable Packages
In 2018, a number of many large companies encompassing over 250 brands, such as PepsiCo, Unilever and Coca-Cola pledged to shift to 100% recyclable packaging by the year 2025. This represents a big step forward for the packaging industry – because as large, industrial titans move toward 100% recyclable packaging, smaller companies and manufacturers are likely to follow suit.
Compostable and Biodegradable Packaging
As the recent backlash against plastic straws has shown, consumers are becoming more aware of the impacts of plastic and synthetic materials on our environment, and packaging companies must adjust to this.
We believe there will be a big increase in the use of compostable and biodegradable materials such as bioplastics made from corn starch. These materials are already used in limited applications today, but in the next several years, they are sure to surge in popularity – especially as environmental issues continue to grow in importance in the public consciousness.
The Future Is Green – So Plan Accordingly!
The increased popularity of eco-friendly “green” products is not going anywhere – so keep an eye on these three trends, and think about how you can incorporate them into your packaging and designs.