Page 46 - Plastics News August 2022

ANALYSIS

excessive plastic at its root cause, and bubble wrap in all of its fulfilment Advanced materials are highly
rather than leaving consumers to deal centres. Such measures have enabled advantageous to consumer goods brands,
with wasteful remnants,” Henry tells Amazon India to eliminate a significant according to the report. Increasingly
Packaging Gateway. use of plastic while continuing to protect innovative materials beyond plastics

He continues: “According to GlobalData’s customer orders.” and paperboard are opening up new
2021 Q3 Consumer Survey, 75% of Henry further explains that single-use potential applications in packaging.
global consumers say “environmental compostable takeaway packaging is The report explains that in the UK, the
issues” are quite/extremely important. likely to gain more traction following the National Graphene Institute has looked
Brands are therefore increasingly pandemic due to consumers’ heightened at several new ways to use graphene and
expected to prevent waste from being concerns around waste. other two-dimensional (2D) materials in
created in the first place.” an array of applications including food
Packaging trend 3: ESG
Packaging trend 2: Online food delivery packaging.
The report says many organisations are
The growth of online food deliveries, ‘future-proofing’ by acquiring circular 3D printing is the construction of a
accelerated by the pandemic, has placed a economy-compatible companies to three-dimensional object from a digital
greater focus on packaging and its waste. avoid falling behind their competitors. model that offers a role in on-demand
New regulations and environmental calls As governments and environmental packaging as well as advantages to rapid
against single-use plastics are forcing agencies call for bans on single-use prototyping. This growing trend allows
businesses to rethink their packaging plastics, the report suggests packaging companies to create packaging at a
choices. The report states that foodservice providers must deploy comprehensive greater speed and at a lower cost than
operators must consider partnering with sustainability plans beyond ESG targets. ever before.
(business to business) B2B packaging “Rot-reducing coatings, such as
providers that offer reusable alternatives. Henry says that “in the wake of the polysaccharide-based films, may also
pandemic, greater attention has been
The rapid growth of quick commerce paid to matters around trust and serve as an eco-friendly way to extend
(Q-commerce) has built an on-demand accountability. According to GlobalData’s the shelf-life of fresh food. Advanced
avenue for the prompt delivery of small 2022 Q2 consumer survey, 78% of global materials offer an alternative method
quantities of food with some platforms consumers actively look for “sustainable / to reduce waste as well as consider
like Getir promising to deliver orders environmentally-friendly” features when new resources. Rocketing inflation
within ten minutes. The growth of making a purchase. “Reuse and refill” and the cost-of-living crisis has spiked
this model shows how convenience has schemes have grown in popularity as raw material and energy costs, leaving
become a commodity for time-poor packaging providers vulnerable so soon
consumers. consumers make more proactive choices after the pandemic. The cheaper cost of
in their shopping habits. 3D printers today offers manufacturers
Henry points out: “Transit packaging
must evolve to meet the huge acceleration “In Europe, regulation supports the the flexibility to attempt new ways of
of e-commerce, and ultimately become growth of refill schemes as the 2021 working – especially when dealing with
compatible with household recycling Directive on Single-Use Plastics aims to prototyping,” Henry explains.
systems. Packaging providers must look encourage less wasteful behaviour.” Packaging trend 5: eCommerce
to minimise non-recyclable secondary Henry also states that the presence of The importance of packaging visuals
packaging since consumers do not global reuse platform, Terracycle’s Loop, has increased due to social commerce
want nor expect the burden of post- in multiple countries like the UK, Japan (S-Commerce) as eCommerce was
consumption disposal. and Canada, suggests reusable packaging impacted in many ways during the

“At the start of the pandemic, Amazon holds an appeal that transcends national pandemic. COVID-19 saw consumers
India began to use paper cushions to attitudes and sentiments. spending more time online than before.
replace plastic dunnage like air pillows Packaging trend 4: Advanced materials Nearly a quarter of consumers (24%)

46 PLASTICS NEWS August 2022