With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, sustainable flexible packaging has gradually become the focus of the packaging industry. It is not only related to our current environmental problems, but also a key step towards sustainable resource utilization and ecological balance in the future. So, what exactly is sustainable flexible packaging? Let’s explain it in detail.
Sustainability of materials
1. Renewable materials: Sustainable flexible packaging gives priority to materials made from renewable resources. For example, bio-based plastics produced from crops such as sugarcane and corn. These plants absorb carbon dioxide during their growth, which helps to alleviate the greenhouse effect. Like some bio-based films, while meeting the packaging function, their raw material sources are sustainably supplemented, reducing dependence on traditional fossil resources.
2. Recyclable materials: Whether the packaging material is easy to recycle is an important indicator to measure its sustainability. Many sustainable flexible packaging uses recyclable plastics, such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate). This material is widely used in food packaging, daily chemical product packaging and other fields. After recycling, it can be reprocessed into new plastic products to achieve resource recycling. In addition, paper flexible packaging is also a common recyclable material. Paper packaging bags for products such as tea and coffee can be recycled into recycled paper or other paper products.
3. Degradable materials: In order to reduce the long-term impact of packaging waste on the environment, degradable materials occupy an important position in sustainable flexible packaging. For example, polylactic acid (PLA), which is a polyester polymer obtained by polymerization with lactic acid as the main raw material, can be decomposed into water and carbon dioxide under specific environmental conditions such as composting. Some environmentally friendly shopping bags, disposable food packaging, etc. will use PLA materials to effectively reduce the accumulation of plastic waste in landfills and oceans.
Sustainability of the production process
1. Energy efficiency: The production of sustainable flexible packaging focuses on improving energy efficiency. Manufacturers reduce energy consumption by adopting advanced production equipment and technology. For example, in the printing process, some companies use digital printing technology instead of traditional gravure printing, which not only reduces energy waste in the platemaking process, but also realizes on-demand printing and reduces energy consumption caused by inventory backlogs. At the same time, the production workshop adopts energy-saving lighting and temperature control systems to further reduce energy costs.
2. Reduce pollution emissions: In the production process of flexible packaging, strictly control the emission of pollutants. For waste gas, use purification equipment to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) generated during the production process. For example, in the production process of plastic film, use adsorption, catalytic combustion and other technologies to treat waste gas to meet environmental emission standards. For wastewater, it is purified through the sewage treatment system to remove harmful substances before being discharged to avoid pollution of water resources.
Sustainability of packaging design
1. Lightweight design: Sustainable flexible packaging pursues lightweight design while ensuring product protection function. By optimizing the packaging structure and material thickness, the amount of packaging materials used is reduced. For example, the flexible packaging of some beverages reduces the weight of the packaging without affecting the packaging strength and barrier properties by improving the material formula and structure of the film, thereby reducing the consumption of raw materials and energy consumption during transportation.
2. Functional integration: Innovative packaging design integrates multiple functions into one flexible packaging, avoiding multi-layer packaging or excessive packaging due to single function. For example, some food soft packaging not only has basic moisture-proof and oxygen-proof functions, but also achieves antibacterial and fresh-keeping functions by adding special coatings or ingredients, extending the shelf life of food and reducing the use of additional packaging materials.
3. Easy-to-open and easy-to-recycle design: In order to improve consumers’ experience and promote recycling, sustainable soft packaging considers easy opening and recycling in design. Design openings that are easy to tear or pull open to facilitate consumers to take products. At the same time, the structural design of the packaging should be easy to recycle and classify, such as using a single material or a separable multi-layer structure to make recycling more convenient.
Life cycle sustainability
1. Cradle-to-grave considerations: Sustainable soft packaging focuses on the impact on the environment throughout the entire life cycle from raw material acquisition, production, use to waste disposal. Through tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA), energy consumption, resource utilization and environmental emissions at each stage are quantified to find out the optimization links. For example, through evaluation, it is found that a certain soft packaging has high carbon emissions during transportation. Enterprises can optimize logistics and distribution plans, adopt more environmentally friendly transportation methods or adjust packaging sizes to improve transportation efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
2. Closed-loop supply chain: Striving to establish a closed-loop supply chain is an important goal of sustainable flexible packaging. This means that packaging waste after product use can be efficiently recycled and re-entered into the production process to be converted into new packaging materials. Some companies work with recyclers and manufacturers to establish a complete recycling system to ensure that packaging waste is properly handled and reused, forming a closed loop of resource circulation and minimizing pressure on the environment.
Sustainable flexible packaging covers sustainability considerations in many aspects such as materials, production, design and life cycle. It is an important measure for the packaging industry to respond to environmental protection needs and promote sustainable development. It has far-reaching significance for us to protect the earth’s resources and reduce environmental pollution. With the continuous advancement of technology and the enhancement of consumers’ environmental awareness, it is believed that sustainable flexible packaging will be more widely used and developed in the future.
Post time: Mar-31-2025