Packaging Industry Paints Itself Green

From a plastic foam cup that holds morning jolts of caffeine to packing and shipping materials, packaging is found everywhere, in almost every industry.

According to a recent study, it is estimated that the worldwide market for packaging is currently valued at $429 billion and is expected to top $500 billion in the next five years.

With environmental concerns on the rise, the packaging industry is now under more pressure than ever to become as environmentally friendly as possible, but without sacrificing quality of its products.

To bring the packaging industry into a new green era, several companies and organizations have been creating and raising awareness and support for sustainable packaging - packaging materials that still do their job, but with less cost to the environment and, ideally, businesses and consumers.

Sustainable Packaging on the Rise

Because of the recent demand placed on the packaging industry to create more eco-friendly packaging solutions and products, the same study predicts that sustainable packaging will count for nearly 32 percent of the packaging industry by 2014.

This is up significantly from the current 21 percent of the market held by sustainable packaging. But, what exactly is sustainable packaging, and what does its creation mean for the environment and the economy? According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), sustainable packaging must meet a variety of requirements that make it eco-friendly while still being cost-efficient and useful for businesses and consumers.

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition envisions a world where all packaging is sourced responsibly, designed to be effective and safe throughout its life cycle, meet market criteria for performance and cost, is made entirely using renewable energy and, once used, is recycled efficiently to provide a valuable resource for subsequent generations. In summary: a true cradle-to-cradle system for all packaging.