The market for sustainable and green packaging will exceed $100 billion worldwide this year, according to analyst firm Visiongain. This market is being affected by a rise in demand from consumers, and the growth will be made possible due to advanced packaging technologies. Visiongain calculates that the sustainable and green packaging market will be worth $107.7 billion in 2011.
Rising concerns over environmental hazards, eco-friendly packaging, carbon emissions, waste reduction targets specified by different countries and the trend towards green packaging are the factors likely to boost the market for sustainable and green packaging solutions. The market is likely to register consistent growth for the next decade, mainly influenced by rising environmental concerns, increasing health awareness, high disposable incomes, rapidly growing economies, dearth of natural resources and high-energy consumption.
While North America and Western Europe are successfully established markets, the growing economies of Asia-Pacific (India and China), Eastern Europe (Germany and Russia) and Latin America (Brazil) offer tremendous potential to explore. according to Visiongain.
The analyst firm expects the global sustainable and green packaging market to demonstrate above average growth in developing nations and steady growth in mature markets. The market was relatively immune to the recent economic downturn; demand held up as consumers’ increasing concerns about personal, as well as environmental, health and wellness drove the need for sustainable packaging innovations. Moreover, technological advancements related to lightweight packaging will further boost the demand in the industry. Furthermore, key industry players and manufacturers are opting for better materials made from renewable sources for packaging purposes thus keeping them out of the landfills.
Guiding most of the packaging trends of 2009 and into 2010 are considerations of value and health. In the realm of health, consumers are looking not only for fresh, safe and nutritious products, but also at items having “healthy,” sustainable packaging. Manufacturers also are under pressure to use environmentally-friendly materials, and adopt methods that require low-energy consumption and reduce the adverse environmental impact of packaging such as landfill.
Regulatory concerns, poor recycling infrastructure and limited consumer demand are some of the factors that are limiting the switch to sustainable and green packaging. However, as Visiongain sees it, with advanced packaging technologies and cost-effective methods and technologies in place, the sustainable and green packaging market is expected to expand globally.
