The Time is Now.
Moving into the Future Together, Sustainably

What is sustainability? What is the solution to more sustainable packaging? Packaging with all sorts of variables like hygiene, food safety, and shelf life…

There’s no simple answer, no one packaging substrate that performs well across all dimensions  – but there steps that brand owners can take toward more sustainable packaging.

This week MBD and Lucid attended the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s Conference in Austin, TX. Spanning across 4 days, the conference was packed with learning from professors, chemists, researchers, suppliers, and agencies with the same vision to create a more sustainable future.

As packaging designers, we believe it is OUR responsibility to make a difference for sustainability. We can’t blame others - we all must own our part and do our very best to implement change at every step of the process of bringing products to market.

Sustainability requirements are increasing at every step of the value chain. Concerns about recyclability, circularity, PCR content, and carbon footprint are on the rise. 52% of consumers report being “extremely concerned” about climate change.

And though the concern is there, many consumers (and brand owners) remain very confused about how to make a difference. There’s a gap between what we want and what we do.
With 9,000 MRF (material recovery facilities) in the US and different legislation across states, there’s no question it can be confusing.

So here are a few of MBD’s recommendations for brand owners: 

1. Join a Coalition – Join the conversation and educate yourself. Become a member of Sustainable Packaging Coalition and How2Recycle. Attend conferences and webinars. Share with others in your company.
2. Educate Consumers – Train consumers on what can be recycled. Consider adding How2Recylce on your packaging. Learn more about The Recycling Partnership. The Recycling Partnership will be launching a new QR code through SmartLabel in May. Add this QR code to the back of your packaging to give consumers a chance to scan the label and discover if the pack is recyclable in their zipcode, When things are recycled properly, it helps to not bog down the recycling system even further.
3. Share Information – If you have a success story, share it. Diversity of thought will help us with innovation. This is a unique area of business where we are all working toward a common goal – not competing against one another.
4. Start Small – Don’t look at your whole brand at once. Start with 1 SKU and make a change that could end up saving countless pounds of plastic in the long run.
5. Consider Food Waste – 40% of food is wasted. “Reduce” is the #1 way to make a difference. Join MBD as members of the Upcycling Food Association and consider how to prevent future food waste.

We are excited about SPC’s announcement of The Design Collaborative led by Brandi Parker. The Design Collaborative will be a way for agencies to further get involved in this conversation. We love how Brandi said we’ve seen enough photos of oceans filled with plastic or landfills piled high in trash. We don’t need to put our energy and focus there – instead we need to shift our energy toward the ways we CAN make changes.

If you don’t know where to start, please reach out to schedule a call with our team. We are here to partner with you in this conversation about sustainability.

The hope and optimism at this conference was high. Even though we have a long way to go, we were so excited to see over 800 people who were gathered this week to learn, collaborate, and contribute their part toward a more sustainable future.  Thank you to Sustainable Packaging Coalition, GreenBlue, and all who were involved in making this event such an inspiring event! We are already looking forward to next year!