6. Packaging materials

Choosing what material to use in your packaging matters for so many reasons.

Your packaging is how you introduce your product to consumers, and we know how important that is! Whether you are eliminating virgin plastic through PCR, bio-based content, or just switching out polymers to make it more recyclable, there can be new and exciting material properties that work for you, your product, and your brand.

There is an increasing amount of choice of packaging material. It can be confusing to try and choose the ‘right’ material for your products when there are so many options. We often get asked what the “best” material is, or the most sustainable material… sadly, there’s no perfect answer to that question (other than maybe no packaging at all, if you can swing it)!Every material has its own unique trade offs. Understanding what the trade offs are for specific materials can help to inform your reduction strategy creation.

So, how can a business understand the trade offs that exist when choosing their packaging? There are some useful data based tools such as a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that can help determine the environmental impact of your product’s packaging. Comprehensive LCAs can take into account carbon emissions & climate change, water usage, eutrophication, acidification, along with other emerging categories that assess issues such as human health, effects on biodiversity, etc. Life Cycle Assessments use real data to determine the closest approximate impact products may have. If your business has access to an LCA tool, this is a great way to assess the impacts and ‘trade offs’ created by different packaging material options.

If you don't have a tool like an LCA to assess tradeoffs, there are some basic considerations that can help to drive decisions. What is your business prioritizing (related to sustainability)? Some consideration for the most common materials used in packaging are below.

Glass: Glass has endless recycling potential, is completely non-toxic, and preserves the shelf life of products. Unfortunately, glass is one of the heaviest options available in the packaging world - and therefore has some of the highest shipping costs and shipping emissions, along with the high energy intensity of mining silica.

Metal: Aluminum and steel are great options because they have endless recycling potential, and are able to accommodate high levels of recycled content in most formats. Due to metal’s heavier weight than some other packaging options, it can have higher shipping costs and emissions from shipping. Mining metal is also highly energy intensive and the environmental impact of different formats of metal packaging can vary greatly.

Rigid Plastic (virgin): Rigid plastic typically has a higher recyclability rate than other plastics. However, it is made from fossil fuels, which increases the carbon emissions factor. Multi-layered Plastic (virgin): MLP is one of the cheapest options for packaging, but has some of the highest environmental and social trade offs due to its lack of recyclability, high emissions factors, leakage rates, and microplastic creation.

Post consumer recycled (PCR) plastic: PCR is a more circular option than virgin plastic. It has lower greenhouse gas emissions as it doesn’t require the ‘extraction’ phase. PCR has potential advantages in terms of consumer acceptance, and in some regions its use can help products and packaging comply with regulations. This being said; PCR can be more expensive, harder to find in a consistent supply (depending on what type of packaging needs you may have), can be less recyclable, and there can be challenges with achieving food grade packaging.

Paper / Cardboard: Paper is highly recyclable, and if treated correctly can be recycled up to seven times. It has lower transport costs and associated carbon emissions due to its light weight. There’s also high consumer acceptance of recycled paper and card, though paper packaging often offers lower product protection. Added plastic layers or films in paper packaging decreases its recyclability. It’s also worth noting that If not sourced responsibly, paper production can be devastating to forest ecosystems.

This is, of course, a really topline summary, and there are many other considerations to take into account when deciding on your packaging. Here’s a few more to keep you going: where the supplier is located, price point, compatibility with your machines, what is recyclable or compostable where your consumers live, and what your consumers expect.

If there’s a demand, we can add more Knowledge Academy pathways to help businesses understand more existing and emerging material options for their packaging.