5 Packaging trends in 2020

Consumers' critical sense of products and packaging that is conducive to the environment and climate is growing. Not surprisingly, there is a boom in demand for sustainable packaging - which varies widely in many directions depending on the industry. According to FDIH, 35% of online stores find that danish customers are demanding greener packaging, and the trend is expected to continue in 2020. Here we give an overview of the packaging trends you need to keep an eye on in 2020.

It has become a major emerging trend, extracting raw materials from plants, to create new innovative biologically based plastic forms and cardboard, which are more environmentally friendly during processing and consume less on nature's resources.

Some new exciting biological alternatives are sugar cane plastic bags and grass bubble envelopes made of grass. Both of these plants have the advantage that they grow fast and that they absorb so much CO2 during growth, so that the packaging is CO2 neutral.

Another trend suggests that the recycled materials can be challenged on supply with the huge demand that has boomed during 2019.

Recycled cardboard and recycled plastic are something that appeals to consumers. It sounds lovely in the ears that it is a waste of minimizing products from recycled materials. The question then is whether packaging manufacturers can continue to have enough recycled materials as resources - because after all, no new plastic and cardboard can be recycled, if new materials isn't produced.

The recycled plastic PET, which is plastic bottles that have been remelted, has also become a popular recyclable material, partly because the bottles are collected from nature in Asia, thus giving a green conscience boost to the end consumer. The clothing industry, food and packaging industry are some of the major purchasers of PET recycled plastic. At Jakodan you can get silk ribbons from recycled PET plastic bottles.

The PET recycled plastic is so sought after that the raw material in 2020 can experience price increases. Thus, the consumer may experience price increases on products of recycled and remelted plastic bottles.

Paper and plastic are like the counter poles that are weighed against each other in the big bag debate. Plastic has been made into the bad alternative in the media, which has helped to highlight paper as the green alternative to the carrier bag. However, the debate is not so black-and-white, as the paper bag requires large quantities of wood as raw material, which can contribute to predatory activities in the world's forests. At the same time, paper bags take up a lot of weight and space during shipping and are at a higher CO2 load compared to the plastic bag. Read more about the full debate here.

Today, more and more companies prefer paper bags, which has put pressure on the raw material wood to make paper bags. Today, the paper reserves are under pressure and the waiting time for paper bag production is increasing.

Recyclable packaging and recyclable shipping bags are more emerging as an alternative to disposable packaging.

Recycled web packaging is packaging that is made in a more durable and powerful quality - often with velcro closure, so that the web packaging can be used again and again. The point is that the customer can send packaging back to the company so that the web packaging can continue it's journey by recycling.

The challenge is to communicate to consumers how this new packaging form and method should be handled, so it does not end up as direct waste, but is reused and recycled as intended. These reusable web bags are significantly more costly in the manufacturing process when it comes to environmental impact, therefore the packaging will yield value only if it is not disposed of as waste at first use.

Many companies reuse packaging, for example cardboard boxes that come with goods, and then the box is forwarded with new goods to the next customer in the "chain" to minimize waste. At Jakodan we have labels of recycled paper with the text "Please reuse and recycle me after use - This box is comitted to recycling", so you can show your customer that you are recycling packaging to protect the environment.

Another packaging trend that is emerging is short-life packaging. This makes sense when it comes to fresh foods and compostable items. Here MarinaTex is a new biodegradable plastic that has a lifespan of 4-6 weeks - and then the plastic is made from fish waste.

The engineers behind the short-lived plastic state that it makes no sense to use ordinary plastic as durable material that does not degrade on products that have a life cycle of less than a day.

At Jakodan, however, we do not sell biodegradable packaging, as it can perish at both our and the customer's warehouse. In addition, biodegradable plastic cannot be re-melted into new plastic, and therefore cannot be returned as plastic in the Danish return system. Read more about why we do not sell biodegradable plastic packaging here.

At Jakodan, we are seeing a sharp increase in the demand for sustainable alternatives to ordinary packaging. Overall, 18% of customers chose environmentally friendly packaging in 2018, and by 2019 the figure had risen to a full 30% [Based on the period September and October 2018 and 2019]. Jakodan has introduced shipping bags of bioplastics from sugar cane in 2019, in autumn 2019 the bags have taken over almost 10% of sales for mail order bags.

When it comes to gift wrapping, there is a significant increase in sales of recycled paper, with sales increasing by 6% in 2019 compared to the previous year. Sales of paper tapes have even quadrupled in 2019 - enabling Jakodan to confirm strong growth in sales of recycled paper and paper products overall. Consumers and businesses want to look for more sustainable alternatives to packaging, and this is to a large extent complied with in 2019. We expect the trend to continue in 2020 and new sustainable packaging gaining momentum.