Sustainable Packaging: On Track for Big Growth

Source reduction is another method utilized by corporations. Retailing giant Wal-Mart recently aided the Kid Connection toy line in a redesign of its packaging. By making the packaging smaller, the retailer says that an estimated 3,425 tons of corrugated materials and 5,190 trees were saved .

A truly sustainable packaging system would utilize 100 percent renewable energy. According to the EPA, only two percent of electricity in the U.S. currently comes from “green power” – defined as energy generated fully or partially from renewable sources. Some packaging suppliers are embracing green power. Wind power accounts for 38 percent of Mohawk Fine Papers’ electricity generation, while Curtis Packaging announced in August a partnership with Community Energy to purchase renewable energy equal to 100 percent of its energy usage. On the print production side, Sandy Alexander has committed to harnessing renewable wind energy to supply 100 percent of the energy for its New Jersey headquarters as well as a major plant in St. Petersburg, Florida.