The Packaging Federation has compiled an industry study of the market and its impact upon society, focusing on the way consumers choose to live. This study and many others like it indicate that packaging is here to stay. Rather than close an industry that employs many people and contributes trillions of dollars to the global GDP, perhaps we should concentrate on the task at hand, finding sustainable solutions that work.
There is great debate about the sustainability of plastics and packaging around the globe. Environmentalists suggest that if the plastics and packaging industry closed operations, the battle against climate change and carbon emissions would be won. Of course, pressure groups often look for the easy way out and when it comes to packaging, the opposition does not always understand society’s need for it.
The facts demonstrate that society, especially the mobile industry where sales are transacted around the globe and products shipped to buyers thousands of miles away, rely upon packaging solutions. This relationship is not about to evaporate, and these are the reasons why:
Undeniable Truths
- Packaging only exists because products exist
- The primary purposes of packaging is to protect and preserve
- Packaging has evolved to become an important aspect of branding
- For the most part, the manufacturing process of the packaging industry is not understood by consumers
- The environmental impact of the packaging industry is far less than the damage and health risks than would be created without packaging
- Modern society and modern business could not exist without packaging
The fact remains that society and business has evolved, and the demand for packaging has in turn increased. As consumption habits evolve, the need for advanced packaging solutions must continually progress. In fact, when environmentalists threaten the packaging industry, consumers inevitably rightfully ask, where would society and business be without it?
Modern Consumption
The very existence of consumption is engrained into our democratic model, and the root cause of many related side-effects are simply too big to influence overnight. Progressively, attitudes towards consumption must change before we shape our behaviour:
- Consumption has increased at unprecedented levels
- Supermarkets mark the landscape of developed, emerging and budding economies
- Shopping, on average, is at least a once-a-week excursion
- The range and choice of products for sale is phenominal
- Perishable goods are available all-year round
- Convenience is increasingly important in the shopping experience
- Consumer demand is the main driver for the packaging industry
So what have packaging companies done to meet the increase in demand? The industry has developed an amazing range of new packaging solutions, which has allowed for big changes in the way we shop. Packaging has without question reduced the amount of food waste in the current supply chain to about 3 percent, not to mention the health and safety protection for end users.
New Markets
New markets have grown tremendously in the wake of new shipping and export-import opportunities:
- Point of sale packaging
- Software & chipsets
- Fruit and vegetables
Consumer attitudes about the packaging industry have also changed as solutions have been developed, and as manufactures embrace more sustainable practices.
While consumer concern about the environment is genuine, most do not understand the progress and the amount of research and development the industry dedicates to environmental solutions on an annual basis. Many also do not appreciate that packaging is simply one step, although an important one, in the wider delivery model.
Conclusion
Packaging has contributed greatly to the way we live and the way we do business. The industry has taken an innovative approach to resolving sustainable issues and lowering the industry’s carbon footprint. The packaging industry has demonstrated an uncanny ability to respond to the needs of consumers the environment and business.
We have come a long way, and this is one industry that will continue to serve the public in a responsible manner. Neither business nor consumers truly desire to limit the access to products that packaging enables.
