StraitsResearch

Just like e-commerce and fashion, the packaging industry has always been subject to annual shifts and tremendous technological changes. One moment your favorite bottle of cola will be used to serve drinks; the next, it will become just a small bottle to store water. The global shift toward reducing carbon footprint and sustainability has resulted in a widespread change in the manner we think and design products. And it’s well-known brands that are paving the way. In 2018, the Coca-Cola Company — the U.S.-based multinational beverage company — pledged to recycle a bottle for every one sold by 2030. The company has also committed to only use recycled materials by 2030 and implement recyclable green packaging by 2025. Furthermore, renowned beauty company Lush has been campaigning plastic-free and naked packaging for quite a while. In over a year, Lush shoppers have saved 800,000 bottles from being dumped in landfills. Los Angeles-based women’s fashion brand Reformation pledges to replace its clothing with one that is both sustainably sourced and fashionable. Their innovative plant-based compostable route has set the standard for others to follow. Some of the other carbon-neutral trends that dominated last year were the drive towards less single-use plastics, in-store refills, and plantable and biodegradable packaging. For example, famous fashion designer Stella McCartney has eliminated the use of plastics from her packaging and is also associated with the Canopy Pack4Good Initiative, which aims to reduce the impact of the fashion industry on the world’s ancient forests. Another trend that is on the rise since last year is minimalism (that encourages millennials to cut back on the number of things that they own.) Simple packaging design allows the product to shine through, for example, the simple water bottles made from plastic recycled from the ocean. We are living in a world where there are social media backlashes, digital transformation, and mass climate change. People are focusing more on shifting ideologies, innovating tech-savvy products, and global transformation. Consumers are more aware of their social responsibility, and companies have to be conscious of how this impacts on the market. A consumer or a brand wanting to create a difference in this world will look to their sphere of influence to decide what they can do to save this planet. According to a study by Unilever, 33% of consumers buy products from brands committed to reducing the carbon footprint. Another research by the Harvard Business Review suggests that 65% of consumers opt for sustainable products. At present, more and more companies and brands are looking forward to sustainability, not merely because it’s the preference of their customers, but because they are beginning to understand their role in making the planet a better place.