Green and sustainable packaging
Focus on sustainability, the green movement, originated back in 1970 when the concept of recycling began to assert itself. However, but it only really began to take hold more decisively in recent years with the Millennial generation, who are particularly more attentive and sensitive to sustainability issues.
The market is moving towards “greener” and more natural products and packaging because customers are increasingly demanding them. Companies are becoming more aware of the environment and of the waste that non-recyclable packaging creates and they are starting to make better packaging choices.
In fact, boxes are a strategic element that can be a determining factor in influencing the image, and therefore the competitiveness, of a company. If, up until a short while ago, what people bought was content, a purchase decision is now increasingly conditioned by its container and the values it transmits.
Consumers, especially the Millennials, are becoming more and more concerned about environmental impact and Brands are constantly on the lookout for ways to meet their needs. Creating packaging with natural and eco-friendly materials is an effective way to demonstrate that they also share the same concerns. Therefore, vegetable-based materials are being progressively more used instead of synthetic materials to make boxes biodegradable. And these changes make the difference. For example, according to a Tetra Pak case study, the drop in ready-made soup consumption was immediately halted and inverted by changing to biodegradable container (the food industry is first in line in terms of natural packaging).
According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), the trend towards sustainable packing is growing year by year. Packs re becoming more and more ecological and recyclable, like the unpainted wooden boxes used for jewellery and watches that can then be re-used to store other items. Or jewellery and sunglasses packaging made in a type of recycled fibre paper using cotton that contains flower seeds. After having removed the jewellery or sunglasses from the box, the box can be buried in the garden and watered to allow the daisies and wild flowers to grow.
Eco-sustainability is not just a question of materials, it is also a creative approach to box shapes in order to save the environment and reduce pollution. In short, packaging is no longer just a simple container but more of a fundamental tool for communicating product and Brand values.
