Sustainable Packaging

RSS

As part of an overall packaging sustainability initiative, KFC has started serving side dishes in reusable packaging. KFC recently introduced what it touts as the first reusable fast-food packaging with

The “going green” groundswell is likely to gain momentum in 2009 and beyond, partly due to the cost savings offered by reduced, greener packaging.

Here's how companies are reducing packaging materials and increasing profitability in an uncertain economy.

Only 52% of used beverage cans (UBC) in North America are recycled. Leading aluminum producer Alcoa wants to raise that to 75% by 2015, because recycled aluminum requires 95% less energy to produce and can be recycled many times with no degradation.

Seven in 10 consumers said they’d be willing to pay up to 20% more for environmentally friendly products, and only one in 10 said they were unwilling to pay anything extra, according to a survey by Mambo Sprouts Marketing.

A variety of “smart” label technologies exist that give a clear indication of product freshness and quality.

Consumer desires and supply chain requirements drive meat and poultry package development.

Consumers expect a lot from meat and poultry packaging. Their wish list includes a diverse set of attributes, including sustainability, convenience, freshness indicators and on-label nutritional data.

Sustainability is steadily gaining the attention of American consumers as media coverage of resource conservation increases, and concern deepens on environmental issues.

We’re living in a consumer economy. Yet we recognize that a one-way product life cycle is not sustainable. You can reuse a bottle as a flower vase but, at the rate people consume our product (and I have no interest in telling them to consume less), there are only so many flower vases that you need.

Palletizing and other unitizing operations can accommodate the sustainability drive with the right adjustments.