The Art of Package Design

STRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY
What does it mean for a package to be sustainable? This refers
to its environmental impact. A product must meet the needs
of the present generation without affecting the ability of future
generations to meet their needs. That means not just using paperboard
that can be recycled but using paper from trees that
are from a managed forest that controls harvesting of trees and
manages regeneration of the forest, in other words “sustainable”.
Not all products are packaged from these sources. It may be a
matter of cost or just education of the benefits. Most packages
using paperboard from managed forests will carry a designation
identifying this to the consumer. You can see some of these logos
and information on certification at http://www.fsc.org.
There are different products we can use aside from standard
paperboard. We can use recycled paper, wood pulp made from
sugarcane, hemp and palm. And when it comes to plastics, they
must be recyclable. We should avoid petroleum based plastics
as much as possible. Research is ongoing in this field and there
are bioplastics made from corn, soy, potato and other renewable
resources. 1
Unfortunately it is a question of costs, and none of these are
cheaper that the current materials. If you have a completely sustainable
package it will be more expensive. But this is a value to
many consumers and it should become a marketing call-out on
your packaging.
1. Smithsonian.com. Corn Plastics to the Rescue.
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