PPRC 2025 session preview: Trends in packaging innovation

Innovation in packaging design and development has ramped up in recent years because of brand owners’ commitment to more sustainable packaging. With goals like reducing the use of virgin plastic, improving recyclability and the like, many new package types have been tested and introduced—and many have not worked.

At the upcoming Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference (Oct. 15-16 in Chicago), industry experts will come together to explore the evolving landscape of packaging innovation.

During the session Trends in Packaging Innovation: The Challenge of Reaching Sustainability Goals, Oct. 16 from 1:15-2:15 p.m. CT, Bill Moore, president at Moore & Associates; Cory Connors, sustainable packaging sales and marketing at Atlantic Packaging; Susan Cornish, principal consultant at Insight + Action; and Michael Hodges, vice president of sustainability and communications at Huhtamaki, review successes and setbacks in packaging innovation and identify effective approaches.

In anticipation of the event, Recycling Today sat down with Cornish to discuss the challenges and opportunities in sustainable packaging, how brand sustainability goals are changing the direction of packaging design and what attendees can expect to take away from this session.

Recycling Today (RT): What role does recyclability play in sustainable packaging innovation?

Susan Cornish (CS): From a brand perspective, making packaging more recyclable is an important goal along with higher recycled content and reducing use of virgin plastic. From a consumer perspective, recyclability is the most recognized and sought after attribute that makes packaging more sustainable.

RT: What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in sustainable packaging today?

SC: One of the biggest challenges is reducing the use of virgin plastic, which remains difficult for many brands and product categories. However, there has been significant innovation in paper substrates and barrier coatings to give paper some of the same characteristics as plastic.

RT: How have brand sustainability goals shaped the direction of packaging design?

SC: Around 2018 and 2019, many brands announced sustainability goals such as reducing the use of plastic, increasing recyclability and lowering carbon footprints. These goals have helped substantially increase the pace of packaging innovation.

RT: What kinds of packaging innovations have emerged in response to these goals?

SC: One of the biggest trends is replacing plastic with paper. Other trends include making liquid products more concentrated, which reduces the amount of packaging needed, and lightweighting packaging of all substrate types, which has been an ongoing trend for decades.

There has also been longtime research and development focused on perfecting paper bottles to reduce the carbon footprint of glass, with some beer and spirits brands now bringing these items to market. Additionally, new product formats have been introduced that reduce the volume of packaging and/or plastic needed, such as laundry detergent in wafers and sheets and shampoo and conditioner in solid bars.

RT: How are companies measuring the success of new sustainable packaging solutions?

SC: In many cases, companies are focused on reducing their overall carbon footprint, so they are tracking metrics in different ways. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has a series of reports documenting the percentage of brand owners’ packaging that is recyclable, contains recycled content, uses virgin plastic and the like.

RT: What do you hope attendees learn from this session?

SC: I hope they gain a better understanding of how packaging is changing due to brand owners setting sustainability goals. While packaging sustainability is improving, there are many challenges along the way that have made it more difficult than might have been expected.