6 Sustainable Packaging Trends That Brands Shouldn’t Ignore

Brands are grappling with multiple challenges to meet the sustainable packaging demand of eco-aware consumers. One of the biggest challenges is to provide eco-friendly packaging solutions within a cost-effective budget to maximize profitability. 

Brands should opt for smart, sustainable solutions. It will meet the demands of eco-conscious consumers while staying within their budget. Read this blog to explore 6 sustainable trends businesses should adopt to maximize sales and reduce expenses. Let’s begin! 

• Choose Recyclable Materials

One of the most popular sustainable packaging trends is the use of recyclable materials whenever applicable. Your business can now leverage recycled plastics, paper, and even glass for product packaging to make them more eco-friendly. 

However, recycled materials can weigh more due to the density of the material. But, as a matter of fact, they minimize the amount of waste accumulating in landfills and oceans. While many small businesses use plastic to package products, considering its lower manufacturing cost. However, cost-effective paper bags for small business packaging are a sustainable alternative to plastic bags. 

Paper bags are biodegradable and readily recyclable, while reducing waste and environmental impact compared to plastic bags. Moreover, they appeal to consumers seeking sustainable packaging solutions in an overloaded plastic world.  

• Go for Biodegradable Materials 

In today’s fast-evolving eco-friendly market, many businesses are adopting biodegradable materials that break down naturally into soil over time. Biodegradable materials remove the need for recyclability entirely, as they naturally degrade. 

On the other hand, businesses need to do research to ensure that the materials they select are truly biodegradable at cost-effective rates. This is because some suppliers claim to offer biodegradable solutions. But, in reality, their packaging can take more than a decade to break down. However, high-quality and affordable cardboard boxes generally degrade in around 90 days. 

Cardboard boxes are the most popular type of biodegradable packaging material, which break down naturally under the right conditions. As they are made up of cellulose, which is a natural fiber, they are broken down by microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. But they can decompose in a few weeks to months in a composting environment.

• Reduce Packaging Size

The packaging material, style, or design you choose matters not only for your product but also for your business as a whole. But you don’t need to consider only material and aesthetics, but also the packaging size of your bag or box. 

One of the easiest ways to reduce manufacturing costs is for businesses to reduce their packaging size by simply using less material. Doing so will make your packaging more sustainable, too. From small to large brands craft packaging boxes and bags for their products that are far bigger than needed. 

So, minimizing the size tailored to the precise product size will also reduce the amount of packaging needed. As a result, it will also reduce the shipping costs as lightweight items reduce shipping costs compared to heavier items. 

• Stick to Mono Materials 

Monomaterial packaging is more sustainable compared to multi-material packaging or composite packaging. Made from multiple materials, composite packaging is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to recyclability. This is because various material layers are difficult to recycle. Their recyclability can also be an impractical and expensive method. 

However, mono materials, including polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) are easily recyclable. So, suppliers or manufacturers seeking more sustainable packaging should go with mono-material packaging. 

Also, keep in mind, mono-material packaging is heavier and bulkier than composite packaging, but still it is easier to recycle and process once it has been used. This packaging also contributes to lower waste disposal costs and ultimately to a circular economy where materials are reused rather than wasted.

• Leverage Reusable Designs

There is no better solution to practice sustainability than reusability. But reusability can be trickier for businesses that envision recycling, as it needs users to move away from how they handle packaging recently, as part of our throw-away culture. 

Talking about reusable packaging is it contains durable materials that are required to be used and withstand washing and sterilization. They must also be able to handle the collection and processing of packaging. 

The goal of the reusable trend is to boost a more circular economy while preventing waste accumulation in landfills. By designing products and systems for repeated use, the need for single-use items and their associated manufacturing processes is minimized, which contributes to lower resource consumption, reduces pollution, and decreases waste disposal costs.

• Switch to Clear Labelling  

Clear communication with your customers is key to success. Hence, a trend where businesses use clear labeling to highlight how their packaging meets sustainable practices is emerging.  Many brands are not only striving to implement sustainable practices through these labels, but also inform customers how to recycle the packaging after use to reduce waste accumulation in landfills. 

Whether you are in cosmetics, retail, food, or any other industry, using clear labels can help your business adopt sustainable options as well as save you significant costs. For example, if you are a food brand, clear communication about the sustainable packaging through carbon emission labeling and smart labeling can boost consumer engagement and loyalty while enhancing visual appeal. 

Moreover, it can even be a selling point for consumers looking for alternatives to plastic packaging. Minimalist designs for your brand labelling can appeal to customers visually. Hence, leverage clear labelling for your business to expand your customer base and boost the customer retention rate. 

The Bottom Line 

Sustainability is at the forefront of modern-era eco-aware buyers now. So, it is something that businesses must prioritize to boost their reputation and green credentials. To burst a bubble that sustainable practices cost businesses heavily, consider the latest sustainable trends discussed in this blog. 

Also, think more out-of-the-box to create eco-friendly packaging solutions to balance sustainability trends with cost-effectiveness.  Beyond packaging, retail and other businesses need to adapt to the broader processes and infrastructure of packaging to practice sustainable practices.