No matter what industry your company belongs to, as long as your product requires a package, you will always pay attention to the innovative packaging alternatives … and nowadays, there are many new, emerging technologies to consider before going to a well-accepted package, traditionally used in your industry.

By far, the most talked about trend in packaging is sustainability. Guess what people think immediately when they hear “environmentally unfriendly?”: plastic, over-packaged products, landfills overflowing with all types of throw-away packages, maybe “Great Pacific garbage patch …”

Packaging industry came back with all sorts of interesting solutions that will help address the uneasy feeling of general public about packaging. Here are a few snippets of what’s available to an out-of-the-box thinking packaging professional.

Plastic, but so much less of it!

Reduced use of plastic while providing robust protection for the product inside is this technology unique advantage.

This light-weighted design allows for reduction in total package cost, mostly due to less raw materials used and lower shipping costs: this design, besides being light, is also stackable contributing to fuel saved and less waste thrown into the landfill. Take a look at this technology: http://www.ipl-plastics.com/skinnypack-technology/en

Consumable Packaging

Yes, it is possible if you are adventurous enough to have the package and eat it too. Talking about the minimalistic approach to packaging: a team of scientists figured out how to package food into a package that stays intact long enough to get through the distribution system, but dissolves when consumed by a human (or another animal). The packaging, created by researchers in France led by Dr. David Edwards, is called WikiCells. It’s designed to imitate how fruit and vegetables are ‘packaged’ in nature with a protective outer layer or skin you can eat.

‘The idea was to use the model of how nature wraps foods,’ said Dr. Edwards, a professor from Harvard. ‘It is a completely new way of packaging and eating.’ He has developed a range of yoghurt pots, juice cartons, water bottles and ice cream containers that mimic natural packaging by enclosing food and liquid in an edible membrane. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160092/Packaging-eat-Food-skins-mimic-nature-slash-plastic-waste.html#ixzz3aGGksaFD

Think about the reduction of waste and savings on transportation costs! Unbelievable development! The only additional greenhouse effect will be what a body produces once the package gets processed through our digestive system. Caveat: convince your customer that it is perfectly safe!

Paper, not Plastic

For many centuries, humans used paper as a primary packaging material. I remember when being a child, my mother using newspaper to pack our lunches … or an old lady around the corner selling pumpkin seeds in a hand-made paper cone …

Well, as they say, “new is a well-forgotten old.” The paper is back!

Take a look at a variety of creative solutions that the packaging industry is putting forward, some of them can contain and protect not only dry, but also liquid products! http://www.ecologicbrands.com

Reusable Packaging … and of course, there is nothing like putting that flip-top cap that you purchased years ago with one of the vitamin products on another bottle that does not have the dispensing convenience.

Most of the rigid packages can survive several life cycles before losing its functionality. The resilient “use-your-own-water-bottle” movement that started in California is a great proof of our society’s ability to reduce the waste by reusing what we’ve got!