Sustainable packaging is a fast-growing segment of the global packaging
industry, and will grow to 32% of the total market by 2014, up from
just 21% in 2009, according to a new report.
Plastic-based
packaging, which represents 35% of all materials used, will be the
fastest-growing sector of the sustainable packaging market over the
next five years, according to cleantech analysts at Pike Research. Metal-based packaging, one of the easiest materials
to recycle, will continue to be the sector with the highest percentage
of sustainability–by 2014, more than 63% of metal-based packaging
will be environmentally friendly.
Paper and paper-based packaging are the largest sectors with more than 40% of the global packaging market.
“The $429 billion global packaging industry is huge but extremely fragmented, with no clear market leaders,” Pike research managing director Clint Wheelock said. “As such, the move toward sustainable packaging represents a broad-based effort by manufacturers, retailers, industry groups, and governments to promote the design of minimal packaging that can be easily reclaimed. A tremendous amount of innovation is going into reducing energy requirements to manufacture packaging and using more recyclable and compostable materials, but there is still a long way to go.”
The report estimates the worldwide market for packaging is currently $429 billion and will surpass $500 billion within five years, an annual growth rate exceeding the total global increase in GDP.
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