Is green packaging low-fat?

We are hearing more and more about green packaging strategies. We see books, conferences, press releases, new materials, and new processes all claiming greenness. This harkens back to another time when we saw all of these same developments focused on low-fat.

Low-fat was to be the next great thing - on par with the wheel and sliced bread. But where is low fat now? For many packagers, it is sitting around as idle packaging lines that were installed to meet this great anticipated demand. But like many new things, low-fat was just a fad.

Some might argue that "green" is similarly a fad. It isn't politically correct to argue against green, so are we really hearing the whole story?

One writer has pointed to the false sense of success that has been created with mandatory recycling programs. These programs cost more than conventional trash pick up, consume more energy in the process, require multiple handling of the same items and result in just as much landfill because there is an oversupply of recycled materials on the market. I sometimes watch my own trash hauler take our diligently separated recycling and throw it in with the rest of the trash because he has no other place to dispose of it.

Will green packaging initiatives be any more successful? Perhaps. Note that the above example refers to mandatory, not voluntary activities. Voluntary initiatives are more likely to see success.

Green packaging initiatives may also make economic sense. It would't be the first time that something that started out to appear onerous ended up to be profitable. If green or sustainable packaging initiatives do turn out to be profitable, they will flourish.

Low-fat was only profitable if people bought the product. They didn't, usually because the product was of lower quality. If green or sustainable packaging maintains product quality and makes money for the packager, it won't be a fad but a long term trend.

What are your thoughts? Do you have examples to share?

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Comments The textbook case for the failure of one kind of green packaging (at least in the engineering and business end of it) is Earthshell. The still live, but a very good book could be written on their downfall. Posted by: Jeff Brandt on January 27, 2008 Aluminium & paper recycling are working well. I suspect plastic recycling will prove just as good as technologies improve - such as pyrolysing / thermaysis, to turn plastic into fuel. Mind you, post consumer resin is already more costly than virgin, such is the demand. Perhaps this will create demand for collection, which in turn should bring costs down as critical mass is reached. Posted by: chris jenkins on February 14, 2008 Post a comment (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) Name: Email Address: URL: Remember personal info? Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)