As consumers become increasingly environmentally aware, brands continue to be challenged to integrate sustainability into all aspects of their brands, including packaging design. With sustainability moving beyond being a simple trend, we’ve seen significant growth in sustainable packaging. These creative solutions have moved beyond simply shifting to paper-based packaging and explore different biodegradable materials and reusable systems that challenge the notion that eco-friendly packaging has to sacrifice design or functionality.
Generally, we see growth in sustainable packaging through three main avenues.
- Exploring the use of innovative biodegradable & compostable packaging materials
- Rethink packaging structures for creative solutions to minimize environmental impact
- Shine light on lifecycle transparency to empower conscious consumer choices
Innovations in Packaging Materials
1. Mushroom Packaging: Eco-Friendly Protection with Mycelium
Mushroom packaging, or Mycelium, is an innovative solution used to create protective packaging. Lightweight and fully compostable, this sturdy packaging solution breaks down naturally and leaves no residues, making it an eco-friendly solution often used for electronics, food, and other fragile goods. Because it’s grown in molds, they are highly customizable in shape.
How it’s made: It starts with taking agricultural waste, such as corn husks or wood chips, and placing them in molds. Mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, is then added and feeds on the waste in order to grow in structure. After 5-7 days, it’s then heat-treated to kill spores and stop its growth, leaving you with a custom, dense, foam-like structure.
Benefits:
- 100% home compostable within 30–60 days
- Since it is grown and not manufactured, it requires minimal energy to produce
- It’s a strong, naturally insulating, biodegradable alternative to Styrofoam
Pioneered by Ecovative, we’ve seen an increase in the use of mycelium for packaging. For example, brands such as IKEA and Dell use mycelium packaging to protect their products during transport.
2. Seaweed-Based Packaging: Zero-Waste from the Ocean
Seaweed-based packaging has been making waves in the packaging industry as a biodegradable alternative to plastic. Kelp or brown seaweed is rich in alginate polymers, is used to create film, pods, or containers that are edible, dissolvable, or biodegradable. Hailed as a renewable resource due to its lack of need for freshwater or fertilizers, seaweed packaging is specifically making leaps and bounds in reducing plastic waste within the food delivery sector.
How it’s made: Seaweed is harvested for its alginate, which is then extracted and mixed with water and occasionally natural additives. This mixture is then poured into moulds or used to form films, which are stabilized by drying or chemically treating them. What you’re left with is a flexible or gelatinous packaging that is biodegradable and, in some cases, dissolvable or even edible.
Benefits:
- Biodegradable and plastic-free, leaving no trace behind
- Edible and dissolvable
- Highly available renewable resource as it’s fast-growing without competing with food crops
Notpla, a UK-based startup, won the Earthshot Prize in 2022 for their innovative seaweed-based food containers that are water-resistant, greaseproof, and fully biodegradable. They’ve also designed edible sachets for sauces and other liquids, which were seen used at the London Marathon to distribute water. Another company, Loliware, has been using seaweed with agri-waste to create sustainable straws and cups.
3. Recycled Paper Pulp Packaging: Circular and Customizable
Made with post-consumer recycled paper and water, pulp paper has been around for ages. However, what’s popularizing pulp packaging are the recent innovations that use starches and natural binders to reinforce the pulp packaging, allowing them to have improved durability, water resistance. The result is sturdy packaging that can be molded to custom shapes that are biodegradable.
How it’s made: Waste paper is shredded and combined with water to form a pulp, which is filtered, de-inked, and refined. It’s then poured into moulds, pressed, and finally heated to dry in order to form trays, inserts, and packaging shells.
Benefits:
- Fully recyclable and compostable
- Reduces paper waste
- Supports a circular economy
Lush Cosmetics, a long-known sustainable brand, uses pulp trays made of 100% recycled paper to protect its products inside shipping boxes. Pulp inserts can also be used to protect electronics, as seen by Apple, which opts to use pulp as opposed to plastic for the trays that hold their iPhones within their rigid box packaging. If you’re looking to leverage the environmental benefits of pulp packaging, PackMojo offers custom pulp inserts that can help to protect and support your products.
Similarly, we see agricultural waste being turned into packaging by extracting their fibers. It utilizes what would otherwise be landfill waste or burned crop residue, such as bagasse, straw, or husk. After being isolated, the fibers are then mixed with water to create a slurry, which is poured into molds and pressed under heat to form rigid shapes. Since it does not require virgin materials, it’s a great way to divert waste from landfills.
Reimagining Packaging Systems & Structures
4. Reusable Packaging Initiatives: Closing the Loop
In addition to recycling waste to create new packaging materials, we also see brands finding alternative ways to reduce waste production by encouraging consumers to reuse packaging. We are seeing brands use more high-durability plastics, glass, or metals (like stainless steel) with the expectation that they can withstand multiple use cycles. The result is a circular system that is able to drastically reduce waste production in the long run.
How it’s done: When packaging is designed for durability and ease of sterilization, consumers can either opt to return containers where they are industrially cleansed and sanitized to be refilled and reused multiple times. Alternatively, we see brands providing refill options that are often cheaper and have less packaging so that the original container can be reused over and over again.
Benefits:
- Reduces single-use waste and allows consumers to play an active role in reducing waste
- Supports circular business models
- Encourages mindful consumption whilst creating customer loyalty
Loop is a circular packaging platform launched by TerraCycle in 2019. They partner with a wide range of consumer brands such as Nestlé, Unilever, and P&G to eliminate single-use packaging waste. When consumers buy products in high-quality, reusable containers, they are charged a deposit that they get back when they return the empty containers, either in-store or via collection services.
On the other hand, The Body Shop launched their global refill scheme, which allows them to bring their branded reusable aluminum bottles back into stores to access their refill stations. The refill program is not only sustainable but also offers their customers extra product volume at a lower price.
5. Multipurpose Packaging: Reuse by Design
Multipurpose packaging aims to give packaging more than one life, therefore extending the packaging’s lifecycle. By using durable materials and designing for multiple use, brands hope that their packaging can provide additional utility to rethink the traditional one-use nature of packaging.
How it’s done: Packaging is designed with the intention to serve a secondary function, potentially with the ability to be transformed into other functional items. This packaging can be made from a range of materials and is designed with user behavior and material durability in mind. Engineered with specific die-cut or crease features intended to make the packaging easy to disassemble or transform. Ultimately, it is the packaging’s intentional design that creates value.
Benefits:
- Reduces disposable items and overall waste
- Extends product lifecycle and eliminates the need for additional resources
- Adds consumer utility and a fun, interactive value
Traditionally, we’ve seen consumers take the initiative on this. We’ve seen consumers use premium tea boxes as storage tins or give old shoe boxes new life. More recently, we’ve seen brands take charge to encourage this more. Samsung encourages its consumers to repurpose their eco-packaging for TVs and transform it into furniture or pet houses through online tutorials.
On the simpler side, the innovation of display boxes allows for a transformation from packaging boxes to display stands. This type of packaging serves both the purpose of transporting products as well as acting as a point of sale display to market products in retail stores. Looking to get transformable packaging, PackMojo has a variety of display boxes that you can consider for your own products.
6. Flat-Packed Rigid Boxes: Efficiency Without Sacrificing Elegance
With the focus on minimal materials, it can often feel like sustainable packaging sacrifices elegance and grandeur. Flat-packed rigid boxes allow brands to decrease their impact on the environment without giving up a luxurious look and feel.
How it’s done: Luxury boxes that are made with rigid chipboards are altered to include specific joints that allow them to be shipped flat and pop into shape via magnetic or tuck-in constructions. This can ultimately save space and therefore decrease shipping emissions and costs.
Benefits:
- Can support sustainability goals while maintaining a high-end presentation
- Reduces shipping volume and costs needed
- Even if it ends up in a landfill, it can take up less space
At PackMojo, we wanted to make luxury packaging accessible for all, despite the amount of storage space you may have access to. Therefore, we have adapted our magnetic rigid box into a collapsible version. Though its per-unit cost may be slightly higher, these costs are accounted for in the significant reduction in shipping and storage costs. Our collapsible rigid box allows you to reduce your shipping emissions whilst providing a grand unboxing experience.
Empowering Conscious Consumer Choices
7. Carbon-Labelled Packaging: Emissions Transparency
Carbon-labelled packaging is packaging that requires brands to disclose the environmental impact of packaging throughout its lifecycle from verified third-party organizations. By transparently indicating carbon emissions, it not only encourages brands to minimize their environmental impact across the supply chain but also allows shoppers to play an active role in a greener future.
How it’s done: From raw material sourcing to end-of-life disposal, emissions of the entire product cycle are evaluated using Verified Lifecycle Assessments (LCA). Brands are required to use software or third-party auditors (like Carbon Trust) to verify and communicate carbon data.
Benefits:
- Promotes carbon footprint awareness
- Motivates lower-emission choices, empowering consumers' responsibility
- Builds consumer trust and promotes transparency
In the food & beverage industry, we’ve seen Oatly and Quorn disclose their carbon emissions on their food product packaging. We’ve also seen the start of this being adopted with consumer products as Unilever announces their plans to include carbon labelling on 70,000+ products.
8. Certified Sustainable Packaging: Sustainability Verified
Sustainability certifications for packaging, such as FSC-certified packaging or Cradle to Cradle-certified packaging, encourage brands to follow circular packaging practices. These certifications challenge brands and consumers to consider the full lifecycle impact of products.
FSC-certified packaging refers to packaging that is made with materials that are sustainably forested. They specifically indicate that paper products used in the packaging originate from responsibly managed forests and showcase a commitment to responsible forestry.
Cradle to Cradle(C2C)-certified packaging refers to packaging that is designed for closed-loop systems, which have been assessed for safety, reusability, and impact across several sustainability categories: material health, reuse potential, renewable energy use, water stewardship, and social fairness. This ensures that packaging materials are non-toxic, fully recyclable or biodegradable, and produced with renewable energy. Ultimately, consumers can rest assured that the packaging is designed for endless reuse or safe disposal.
Brands such as Aveda, Shiseido, Eileen Fisher, and Mosa Tiles consider C2C principles in their approach to product and packaging design. As the demand increases, more packaging companies are providing packaging that fulfills these certifications. At PackMojo, we continue to shift and adapt with the ever-changing packaging landscape; therefore are happy to offer most of our packaging products in FSC materials.
Conclusion: The Future of Sustainable Packaging
Sustainable packaging isn't just about reducing waste—it's about rethinking the role packaging plays. Whether it's growing it from mushrooms, turning it into a product display, or ensuring it comes with a carbon label, the landscape of sustainable packaging in today’s day and age allows brands to find the solution that best suits their needs.
At PackMojo, we're proud to help brands turn their packaging into a sustainability statement—without compromising on quality, function, or style. Ready to go sustainable? Check out our range of eco-friendly packaging that can be easily tailored to your brand.