{"id":1,"date":"2021-06-24T15:34:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T15:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deliverlean.com\/grbngo2\/?p=1"},"modified":"2021-12-02T15:20:17","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T15:20:17","slug":"sustainability-in-packaging-the-reality-of-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/?p=1","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability in Packaging\u2014the Reality of the Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

By Monica Hollifield, MSDN, RDN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

A study led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that nearly 8 million tons of plastic waste end up in oceans each year.1<\/sup>\u00a0By 2050, the report indicates that plastic debris will outweigh fish globally if changes are not made.1<\/sup>\u00a0Sustainable packaging is one way to begin to tackle the issue of plastic waste, and consumers are on board with the change.<\/p>\r\n

A survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group on 15,000 consumers found that 67% of those surveyed consider the sustainability of the packaging of products they purchase to be important.2<\/sup>\u00a0A whopping 83% of consumers 44 years or younger surveyed stated they\u2019re willing to pay more for sustainable packaging with that number dropping to 70% for all consumers surveyed.2<\/sup>\u00a0Forty-eight percent of consumers surveyed said that sustainable packaging is more important to them now than it was before the pandemic.3<\/sup>\u00a0While most shoppers have become more frugal since the start of the pandemic, they\u2019ve also become more socially conscious; they\u2019ve seen the effects the pandemic and national shutdowns have had and believe this has highlighted the fraught relationship manufactures and consumers have with planet earth.3<\/sup>\u00a0For many, the driving force behind seeking out products packaged sustainably is that it is \u201cthe right thing to do\u201d for the future of our planet.3<\/sup><\/p>\r\n

This increase in consumer awareness is poised to continue its growth, and the industry is preparing for that\u2014the sustainable packaging market is projected to grow at a rate of 9.25% between 2021-2026.1,2<\/sup>\u00a0Large corporations are following suit, with dozens of\u00a0food manufactures\u00a0<\/a>signing onto the \u201cEllen MacArthur Foundation\u2019s Global Commitment\u201d which aims to achieve 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.2<\/sup>\u00a0Unfortunately, while the desire to change may be there, switching to sustainable packaging is not that easy.<\/p>\r\n

Sustainable packaging costs an average of 25% more when compared to traditional packaging, and that more costly packaging may not perform in the same way as traditional packaging.2<\/sup>\u00a0Temperature changes or extreme temperatures are oftentimes a challenge for the materials used in sustainable packaging, and retention of freshness can also be compromised. \u201cI\u2019d love for us to be able to use 100% sustainable packaging, but unfortunately the packaging that\u2019s out there today just doesn\u2019t meet our needs\u2014for the price you\u2019d pay for these materials, the efficacy for our needs is just not there yet\u201d says Nicolas Oppel, Director of Procurement at DeliverLean. He\u2019s received several sustainable packaging samples, but none of them have been able to pass the rigorous testing used for all DeliverLean products.<\/p>\r\n

While there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing sustainable packaging, most companies can seek to fulfill the long-term goal of achieving sustainability in packaging by replacing the use of single-use packaging and simultaneously instilling a re-use culture among consumers through brand and package messaging.4<\/sup>\u00a0Hopefully there will come a time when all packaging used across industries will be sustainably sourced, manufactured, and recycled. Until then, consumers can continue to use their purchasing power to voice their support for sustainable packaging as scientists and engineers race to create packaging that can compete equitably with traditional packaging.<\/p>\r\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n
  1. Sustainable packaging market 2021 size, status and global outlook. Tanmay. The ShotCaller Web Site.\u00a0https:\/\/theshotcaller.net\/sustainable-packaging-market-2021-size-status-and-global-outlook-amcor-limited-westrock-company-tetrapak-international-s-a-sonoco-products-company\/<\/a>. Published May 16, 2021. Accessed June 2021.<\/li>\r\n
  2. Consumer demand for sustainable packaging holds despite pandemic. Manning, LA. FoodDive Web Site.\u00a0https:\/\/www.fooddive.com\/news\/consumer-demand-for-sustainable-packaging-holds-despite-pandemic\/599013\/<\/a>. Published April 27, 2021. Accessed June 2021.<\/li>\r\n
  3. Packaging in a pandemic: sustainable packaging still a priority during COVID-19. Straus, MA. Nutritional Outlook Web Site.\u00a0https:\/\/www.nutritionaloutlook.com\/view\/packaging-in-a-pandemic-sustainable-packaging-still-a-priority-during-covid-19<\/a>. Published May 11, 2021. Accessed June 2021.<\/li>\r\n
  4. Global sustainable packaging market report 2021: a full shift to paper and bioplastics is neither viable nor sustainable. Yahoo!Finance Web Site.\u00a0https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/global-sustainable-packaging-market-report-112300472.html<\/a>. Published May 11, 2021. Accessed June 2021.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A study led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that nearly 8 million tons of plastic waste end up in oceans each year.1\u00a0By 2050, the report indicates that plastic debris will outweigh fish globally if changes are not made.1\u00a0Sustainable packaging is one way to begin to tackle the issue of plastic waste, and consumers are on board with the change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-manufacturing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101036,"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/101036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/101030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grbngo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}