Sustainability In Packaging Industry

1.Importance Of Sustainability in Packaging Industry

Traditional packaging consumes natural resources and on the other hand sustainable packaging use of small amount natural resources which improves the capability of businesses to provide creative products and longer services.

Selecting the right materials for packaging can have a major impression on the success of your product in the marketplace.

• Choosing recyclable materials to package your products is becoming vastly important as more and more clients take note of brands’ dedication for sustainable and environmentally friendly business practices.
• When customers receive your product, they want to see that it is packaged properly. Using materials that are non-poisonous, recyclable, biodegradable, and that will not cause the imperishable issues to our planet is a great cause that appeal to many customers.
• Choosing the right packaging material will help your company to reduce your carbon footprint, improve your brand image, increase sustainability, and improve your buyer gratification which in turn will lead to success of your business.

2.What can you understand by Sustainability in packaging industry?

Sustainable packaging can be explained by beneficial recyclability and effective use of packaging strategies that is developed by hygienic manufacturing practices.

The sustainability is optimizing use of earth friendly materials and simultaneously meeting the market criteria for product presentation and cost effectiveness.

Imperishable and reliable packaging is any type of environmental friendly substance used to wrap, store or ship products. It protects products like as regular packaging by showing the resilience properties of conventional materials.  However it breaks down fully in the ground into beneficial organic humus.

Eco-friendly packaging includes recyclable materials, such as PET or HDPE plastic, cardboard, and paper wrappings.

3.Sustainable Materials For Packaging

Such materials are employed for packaging purposes as they have eco-friendly in nature and are easily recyclable.

Some of those materials are:

PE or PET obtained from sugarcane:

Polyethylene obtained from sugarcane are employed to make environment friendly plastic. Ethanol from sugar cane is converted into ethylene after dehydration and then it is changed into Polyethylene Terephtalate.

Post Consumer Regrind (PCR) / Reusable Plastic:

Plastics are reusable and biodegradable if they have been recycled and reused.

Start or Cellulose Based Material

These have same characteristics like plastic materials but are decomposed into organic compost which is healthy for plants.

Some other non-plant based recyclable materials include

• Sugarcane bagasse
• Hemp
• Biodegradable cotton,
• Straw
  

4.Advantages of sustainable packaging

There are many benefits that come along with switching to eco-friendly packaging. Some of which are detail below:

• Enacting maintainable packaging is only about ecologically responsible but also helps in differentiating your brand from others by appealing to the ever-growing number of eco-friendly clients.
• Being more sustainable can help you acquire more buyers. This packaging also offers major profits to brands that adopt it.
• This kind of packaging also present some ecological benefits such as it reduces release of carbon dioxide in environment contributing to lower emission of   greenhouse gases.
• It is bio-sustainable and is easily degraded by bacteria and fungus present in solid consequently releasing little to no amount of deleterious poisonous substances.
• Eco-friendly packaging is versatile that can be moulded into various forms and shapes. You can easily create your unique brand make and model using sustainable materials.
• This climate friendly packaging is light in weight thus decreasing your shipment and transport costs

5.Implications of sustainable packaging

Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) outlines few principles for conduction of sustainable packaging.

These are:

• The packaging should valuable, harmless, and healthy to people
• It should be sourced, produced, conveyed, and reprocessed using minimal energy.
• This packaging must optimize the use of sustainable or reused source materials.
• The packaging must be processed using clean practices
• The packaged materials must stay fresh throughout the lifecycle of product.

6.What else can be done to enact sustainability in packaging industries?

According to a report, the contribution of pharmaceutical sector in deleterious effects of greenhouse gases is estimated to be 55% which is even more than automobile industry.

So for implementing the idea of sustainably developing your products, you must use precise dimensional packing. This means you only consider the amount of material which is required to store product while it is being stored, transported, delivered and used.

This fortunately becomes cost efficient too. Since unessential use of raw materials are decreased in return cutting down the transport cost.

A pharmaceutical company can think about assigning printing and packaging task to domestic company instead of an international one. This will decrease the combustion of fuel during shipment.

Biodegradable wrap is a new trend that gives second life to products. Some of the customer feedback in a sustainability research showed and indicated a wide range of reused wrap with  paper products gaining popularity.

7.Sustainable Packaging Strategies You Need To Try

Counsel your clients and public so they should learn about three R’s as a way to conserve ecology and contribute towards a better environment. Three R stands for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. You can label your products that are made through recyclable materials with three R logos.

Searching for some cost-effective method to try? Lower down your transportation costs by decreasing the size of your packages product for this purpose, you can use smaller containers that require less packaging material.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been the chosen material for blister packaging but due to changes in regulations it is replaced with recyclable polypropylene. Another recyclable material type is paper which is specifically suitable for nutraceutical blister packing.

Avoid over packaging throughout supply chain as it causes extra wastages because of extra production of the product.

Select your manufacturer carefully after looking into their interest for sustainable materials.

8.Fundamentals of sustainability & Pharmaceutical Packaging

The World Health Organisation has underlined certain points to curtail and wipe out environmental waste. These procedures are carried out by tapering off unnecessary medicines packing which is not beneficial for its protection, by incorporating recyclable materials, and by turning adulterated or contaminated packaging for incineration.

However pharmaceutical reusing is not appreciated well owing to risk of contamination but still the companies are asked to employ environment friendly materials for packaging drugs.

Countless manufacturers have decreased the weight of their packing material thus reducing packaging material in turn. At the same time, effective action of the drug must be also kept in consideration while creating the packaging otherwise it may cause harm rather than good.

One rising trend is QBD (Quality by design) which guarantees that no harmful ingredient and environmental contaminant is released outside through the packaging. Environment contamination due to antibiotics is another huge problem and by opting for QBD you can help counteract it.

9.Opportunities And Challenges of Sustainable Packaging

Unfortunately, campaign of replacing plastic materials by sustainable ones comes with a lot of hurdles. Few challenges of sustainable packaging are address below:

Tackling Customer requirements along with the need for sustainability in products:

Your consumers might enjoy the new packaging and appreciate it only if doesn’t compromise its quality and has same features before packaging.

For instance, if you changed the packaging material of any beverage straw and it doesn’t provide good quality of perforation and liquid delivery then it not satisfies customer needs.

Making sure that the packaging system you use doesn’t destroy the packaged product!

It is now known that eco-friendly materials for packaging are at more introspective mode but recyclable or sustainable packing should not come at the expense of inside item. It should not have sharp corners or is gluey that deteriorate quality of inside product.

Eco-friendly is expensive!

Ever visited a mall and been asked by the shopkeepers to pay some extra for wanting to play a part in saying NO to plastic useby buying recyclable cloth bag? Well this is because environmental friendly materials are quite expensive. The high price of eco-friendly materials are due to less established supply chains, manufacturing practices.

Packaging is linked with the product’s lifecycle as well:

Packaging of products protects it from getting damaged or defective from environmental conditions and harmful chemicals. Thus packaging boosts the lifecycle of item.

The way for Recycling

You should not only be productive about sustainable development but also keep in mind how the waste materials are going to be processed for recycling. Handling raw material waste is necessary for infrastructure and authorities.

Conclusion

In recent era, trend towards eco-friendly packaging has been growing. Many productions lines are opting for sustainable materials since they have less carbon print, biodegradable, and satisfy the consumer’s needs for clean-label packaging. Hope you have learned about sustainability in packaging industry by going through this guide. If you have any additional question regarding this topic please contact our helpline. Our customer service is ready to guide you 24/7.