Regular readers would know that the featured topic last month was about the advances in sustainability within the flexible packaging industry. As we were compiling the information for that feature, what stood out to us was the fact that nearly every product or idea was a smaller part of a greater concept — a circular economy. And because so much time, effort and money is being spent by organizations to transition to a circular economy, we’re calling it the most innovative aspect of flexible packaging happening today.
The details of what a circular economy is has been covered pretty extensively here and in other places, so we won’t go into it much here. Simply put, though, a circular economy is one where raw materials are used to create a product, and then that product is broken down into raw materials to create a new product — wash, rinse, repeat. The idea is to create an infinite loop where the materials used to create a product are “dug up” only once. It’s a concept that many industries are pursuing, and while there have been some successes, we’re still a ways away from widespread adoption.