Green Packaging - Closing Thoughts: What lies in green packaging’s future?
Anne Johnson, director,
Sustainable Packaging Coalition
“Innovations in energy, as well as packaging design and materials, are clearly on the horizon. I hope to see businesses take the challenge to consumers and our federal leaders to ask for their participation in greening packaging by helping to support the development of more-effective collection and recovery systems.”
Hana Zalzal, founder and president,
Cargo Cosmetics
“I foresee tremendous growth in biopolymers such as PLA, as well as huge progress in making all types of packaging, regardless of the material, more lightweight. I predict that consumer demand for eco-friendly products and packaging will grow beyond current expectations.”
Tim Greiner, managing director,
Pure Strategies
“The sustainability story is like an onion. When we peel back one layer, it reveals others. As the packaging industry looks to deepen its ecological commitment, we will see companies move beyond today’s focus on biopolymers and recycled content. The supply chain will become more important as brands look into issues such as the agricultural practices used to grow feedstock for biopolymers or the use of renewable energy to power the blow-molding line.”
Joshua Onysko, CEO and founder,
Pangea Organics
“The future of green packaging is to realize that we need more future and less packaging.”
Nicole F. Smith,environmental director,
Design & Source Productions Inc.
“We will see a closed-loop system, in which manufacturers use materials that can be recycled or composted and in which there is infrastructure for the end-consumer to make sure their waste is recycled into packaging and products for tomorrow.”
Laura Tufariello, president,
Design & Source Productions Inc.
“Step by step, change takes time. Remember when everyone smoked in movie theaters, supermarkets, restaurants, airplanes, and even in college classrooms? It wasn’t that long ago. I look forward to the day when there is no packaging waste, when people may actually say, ‘You mean you used to throw all of that packaging into the landfill?’”
Gina Garrubbo, CEO and cofounder,
Natural Beauty Innovations LLC/Terralina
“I believe that a growing segment of consumers will judge companies on how they treat the environment and that there will be a growing emphasis on packaging. Companies that make an effort to use environmentally friendly packaging will be rewarded, and those that do not may turn off a segment of consumers who believe that they should.”