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Yasmin Ahmed
Packaging has become a product in its own right – facilitating the transportation, storage, distribution, preservation, and marketing of an array of food, beverage, beauty, and other consumer goods. But as packaging production soars year-on-year across the world, so too does waste, placing an unprecedented burden on the environment. Almost 80 million tonnes of packaging waste was generated by the EU in 2020, and a third of all municipal solid waste in the US comprises packing containers, amounting to 82.2 million tonnes in 2018.
But an anti-packaging movement is burgeoning, looking to tackle the issue of needless waste head-on. The trend encompasses a range of strategies: stripping away unnecessary packaging elements, introducing standardised containers, and switching to concentrated and waterless formulas to go light on packaging or eliminate it entirely. The goal: to minimise post-consumer waste and spark a wave of disruptive designs that inspire cultural and behavioural shifts. Consumers want it, legislators are enforcing it, and the environment needs it. As for brands, the crisis of waste presents an invaluable opportunity to recalibrate and be on the forefront of the anti-packaging movement, earning new loyalties and enriching their value proposition. Here, we take a deep dive into the problem, and how the anti-packaging movement is building momentum across industries.
More often than not, packaging is excessive, wasteful, and perpetually polluting. Most of it comes in the form of disposable plastic that's used once – sometimes for mere seconds – and thrown away, not to mention the multiple layers of packaging now used for single products. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that the world produces a staggering 400 million tonnes of plastic waste and consumes five trillion plastic bags annually. Once used and discarded, plastic has limited end-of-life options due to the toxicity and redundancy of plastic recycling, coupled with lagging infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, 91% of this harmful waste is either incinerated (19%), mismanaged or left as uncollected litter (22%), or sent to landfill (49%), taking around 450 years to break down. The problem is so persistent that Plastic Overshoot Day, the date when the amount of plastic waste for a given year outweighs the world's capacity to manage it, is falling on 28 July 2023, meaning that an additional 68.6 million tonnes of waste will end up in nature this year alone.
But packaging waste isn't the only problem; packaging itself is contributing to needless food waste too. In 2022, an 18-month study by WRAP concluded that selling fresh fruit and vegetables loose would not only eliminate 1,100 trucks worth of plastic, but could save 14 million shopping baskets worth of food from going to waste. Debunking the myth that single-use, pre-packed food wrappers prevent food waste, the global NGO urged retailers to also remove 'Best Before' labels (an additional layer of packaging) to discourage households from throwing away good-to-eat food. "Plastic packaging doesn’t necessarily prolong the life of uncut fresh produce. It can in fact increase food waste", according to WRAP’s CEO, Marcus Gover. As of 1 July 2023, New Zealand became the first country in the world to impose a nationwide ban on single-use fresh produce bags across its supermarkets. The move is projected to eliminate 150 million plastic bags per year, equating to 17,000 bags every hour. France banned plastic packaging from being used to wrap 30 fruit and vegetables in January 2022.
The dawn of anti-packaging challenges this devastating status quo, eliminating waste before it's created by minimising the amount of material used or getting rid of packaging altogether. Reusable packaging supplier Dizzie's co-founder, Ben Patten, told PlasticFree that "single-use packaging is causing untold damage to the ecosystems we depend on as well as contributing ever-increasing amounts to overall carbon emissions". Consumer sentiment against waste is rife and the proliferation of regulations has helped to bolster these up-and-coming trends as they steadily gain momentum.
In 2016, a public outcry against Amazon led by frustrated customers exposed the global e-commerce platform’s excessive packaging use. The retailer faced a viral backlash as angry UK and US customers took to Twitter to express their outrage, posting photos of tiny, unbreakable items hidden beneath layers of crumpled Kraft paper and shipped in pointlessly oversized cardboard boxes. Amazon was voted the worst offender by the public in 2020 and 2021 for using too much packaging. The upheaval forced Amazon to introduce its Certified Frustration-Free Packaging initiative, promising to end the use of excessive packaging materials.
Awareness is growing about the environmental impact of waste, driving consumer demand for minimal packaging. The public is becoming more discerning about the wasteful nature of our current consumption models, directly influencing their purchase decisions. Increasingly concerned about their personal carbon footprint, the guilt of throwing away oversized packaging and pointless food wrappers is fuelling a demand for less. In the UK, a 2019 YouGov Custom survey revealed that 46% of respondents feel guilty about the volume of plastic they use, and 82% said they are willing to pay more for a grocery shop if it did not include single-use plastics. Similarly, a 2020 global McKinsey survey of 10,000 consumers found that the "overwhelming majority of respondents claim to be willing to pay more for sustainable packaging across end-use areas".
The excessive use of packaging has even led to a perception among consumers that they are being forced to pay for packaging that they don’t want or need. As Patten notes, packaging waste "costs society a huge amount to manage – a cost currently picked up by taxpayers with no incentive for brands and retailers to change". A product with less packaging instantly cuts costs, offering better value for money and elevating brands that choose to embrace the anti-packaging route.
Beyond the environmental case, there are direct economic benefits to auditing your use of packaging. British cosmetics brand Lush's product inventor and cosmetic scientist, Daniel Campbell states that "around 40% to 50% of the cost of a product goes on its packaging". By going light on packaging, the cost per unit of a product line can be substantially reduced. Less packaging also means that transportation costs are minimised. For brands, making a financial saving through pared back packaging means you can put more resources into enhancing the quality of your ingredients and products.
The value proposition of companies is now inextricably linked to their environmental footprint and brand association, driven by a more galvanised public sentiment that is having a knock-on effect on mandates from lawmakers. The legislative landscape is ripe, with McKinsey reporting in 2022 that over 40% of the 30 countries it studied around the world already have an active EPR scheme, forcing businesses to take responsibility for the entire cost of disposal or recycling of their packaging. Companies falling short of regulatory measures are likely to be hit with financial penalties, adding further strain to budgetary constraints.
Less dependency on packaging also enables brands to build resilience in the face of market fluctuations and be less susceptible to supply chain volatilities. The procurement of raw materials like Paper, Aluminium, and Glass has been challenged by the global Covid-19 pandemic, labour shortages, and geopolitical instabilities over the past three years, making them scarce and more expensive. Add to that incoming plastic taxes, packaging production wages, external costs associated with plastic pollution, and EPR policies, and it becomes clear that adopting an anti-packaging approach is a direct way to future-proof your business.
The central premise of the anti-packaging trend is simple: do we need packaging at all? An emerging family of edible coatings proves that packaging isn't really necessary in some use cases, rather being used just as a marketing tool. Apeel Sciences' invisible coating, for example, is applied directly on fresh fruit and veg, acting as a protective layer and extending the produce's shelf life by up to three times compared to plastic wrappers. In November 2021, British supermarket chain Asda introduced Apeel to its range of citrus fruits and avocados across 150 stores in a bid to slash its waste by 50% by 2030. Notpla's consumable Ooho sachets for condiments and beverages present another solution. "Designed to disappear", they biodegrade within weeks like a fruit peel. The Seaweed membranes were used to distribute beverage bubbles to runners at the 2019 London Marathon, replacing 200,000 single-use plastic bottles that would have been discarded during the one-day event. The bubbles can be eaten too, generating zero waste, and raising the question of whether they should be called packaging at all.
Another narrative-changing innovation from Dutch fruit and veg distributor Eosta uses laser light to etch fresh produce, removing the need for labels and wrappers. Launched in 2016, the company has saved 50 million pieces of plastic packaging thanks to its "natural branding technology". Self-contained, or 'naked' food items are also disrupting the status quo. Food-tech startup Foodberry's "patented library of fruit skin barriers" mimics botanical fruit, offering nutritious snacks such as yoghurt wrapped in a blueberry coating and hummus coated in a red pepper skin. If you need more than an on-the-go snack, then Naama Nicotra's series of bare food dishes – known as NakedPak – delivers the ultimate zero-waste experience. Searching for a solution "that could function as a packaging material and could be eaten with its contents", Nicotra developed a soluble biomaterial made from Algae and agar that acts as a wrapper. Each self-contained dish contains all the ingredients and spices needed, transforming into a complete meal by simply rinsing and cooking in boiling water. NakedPak is a thought-provoking illustration of what's possible if consumers are willing to embrace a "behavioural and mental change", according to Nicotra.
Another way to reduce or eradicate packaging is to redesign a product so it can be shipped, stored and sold without it. Removing water is one way to do this. Brands across the food and beverage, beauty, and household goods sectors are turning to powdered, dehydrated, concentrated, and solid formulas to dramatically minimise their packaging. Going waterless negates the need for packaging entirely in some cases. In others, it at least eliminates the requirement of a high-spec water barrier solution, which is typically achieved through plastic. Shampoo bars, powder-based household cleaning products, and toothpaste tablets coupled with a reusable container or applicator dramatically reduce the amount of packaging required.
Real life examples are coming thick and fast. Lush's full-blown packaging-free approach offers an impressive range of nude hair, bath, and body bars. The company's 'Naked Revolution' has seen it open three Naked stores in Berlin, Milan, and Manchester, where consumers can purchase products with zero packaging. UK-based household brand Raindrop sells a range of dissolvable hand soap tablet refills wrapped in paper accompanied by keepsake glass dispensers. The brand's starter pack is the equivalent of eight 300-millilitre plastic bottles of hand wash. In the food sector, Montreal-based Bar to Cook has launched a range of concentrated sauce bars that are melted into a dish by adding a liquid component like water or milk and have a shelf life of two years.
Creating standardised packaging across industries and brands is emerging as a scalable solution to the excessive use of packaging to house single-use products. If all brands selling shampoo, for example, opted for the same shaped bottle made from the same material, then that packaging could be more easily collected, cleaned and reused as we’d all be in it together. This model is an attractive proposition for consumers who want to opt out of waste generation, but for businesses, it may not be as compelling at first glance.
For a waste-free circular economy to truly take flight, bespoke and branded disposable packaging will have to be abandoned in favour of standard containers, meaning a brand can’t stand out on the shelf in quite the way they’re used to. A number of companies are meeting the challenge by offering 'packaging as a service' and building reusable packaging infrastructure to facilitate the transition. B2B company Dizzie's model encompasses a range of services, including the provision of empty reusable containers or retail-ready white-label products, packaging cleaning, and support with packaging tracking and recovery. The company has a production capacity of up to 20 million units per month, thanks to its Reuse Hubs, which run automated cleaning and filling lines and can be replicated to serve multiple regions. Startups like Dizzie and Circolution are already proving the feasibility and popularity of this route amongst consumers, but Patten believes that we need "a level playing field" and an injection of political and commercial vision for systemic change to gain momentum. Since 2019, Dizzie has saved over 1.3 million pieces of plastic. Imagine how much more could be saved if refill and reuse became the new normal.
While some products are packaged for the sake of packaging, the fact remains that others need packaging for handling, protection, and preservation, and the livelihoods of many people around the world literally depend on the industry. But the onus is on brands and packaging suppliers to find innovative ways to reduce the amount of material they use or switch to circular alternatives and nutrient-rich compostables. In practical terms, the anti-packaging movement can imply a minimalist approach rather than an outright snub.
Businesses are heeding the call, ditching outer sleeves, boxes, and labels. In the beverage sector, luxury brand Champagne Telmont declares that "the best packaging is no packaging". In June 2021, the French brand banned gift boxes across its champagne range, resulting in an 8% reduction of carbon emissions per bottle. Meanwhile, British supermarket chain Waitrose announced in April 2023 that it’s trialling wine bottles without plastic and foil neck sleeves. Known as capsules, the sleeves serve no functional purpose. The retailer estimates that half a tonne of packaging waste will be eliminated per year by removing them across its range of ten Love and Found wines. Waitrose's Manager of Packaging Innovation and Delivery, Karen Graley, told PlasticFree that the move is part of a broader strategy to "drive positive change as a responsible business, by designing products with circularity in mind, eradicating unnecessary packaging as we go".
Swapping plastic packaging for alternative materials that have a benign impact on the environment and can seamlessly slot into an existing recycling stream is the first step towards a zero-waste business model. But eliminating the need for any packaging materials at all is the gold standard and something that every business should work towards where possible.
Good design doesn’t create waste, so it's worth going back to the drawing board and interrogating your product’s design to eliminate waste before it's created. Factoring in possible packaging-free formats and designing for them by going waterless will position you at the forefront of the anti-packaging movement. If some form of packaging is required, opt for recyclable or reusable solutions.
Going light on packaging or getting rid of it altogether could have repercussions for your brand presence. So consider how you might deliver your message without physical assets. Engaging your customer base could involve acquiring a digital platform, building an app, developing your social media profile, or a simple QR code that consumers can scan on-the-go to access product ingredients and handling guidance. In the digital age, be open to exploring new mediums to communicate with the tech-savvy generation of today.
