We wouldn’t be wrong to say that we live in a plastic world. 

Over 500 billion plastic bags were produced last year, most of which, after serving their purpose, go to landfills and the oceans. They take centuries to decompose.

The dangerous impact of packaging has rung an alarm bell among consumers, manufacturers, and government bodies and urged them to improve the process. Every stakeholder is contributing towards decreasing carbon emissions and increasing sustainability.

• Consumers are now demanding eco-friendly options. According to a recent Statista Consumer Insights study, consumers worldwide are aware of the need for sustainable packaging. 64% of consumers in India consider eco-friendly packaging as an essential aspect of consumption. 

• Governments worldwide have also stepped in to create stringent rules for packaging materials and processes. For instance, the European Union (EU) revised the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in November 2023. They have passed a mandate to reduce plastic use by 20% by 2040. In the US, states like California have introduced schemes that require manufacturers to recycle and manage waste. In a recently concluded COP29 summit, over 170 countries are finding a way to decrease plastic consumption and have more control over plastic lifecycle by 2025.

• Companies like Henkel and Celanese use innovative solutions, such as Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technology, to produce water-based adhesives useful for sustainable packaging in industries like e-commerce, packaging, and labeling and reducing their carbon footprint. This will enable them to improve customer trust and brand image. 

Given the efforts put by different stakeholders into finding eco-friendly solutions, let’s look at what brands can do at an individual level to design for sustainability. 

Tips To Design for Sustainability‍

Managing packaging artwork is far smoother with the right approval management software like ManageArtworks. Here's how it helps brands overcome common pitfalls and launch products on time.

1. Use sustainable packaging material

Like Henkel and Calanese, which produce water-based adhesives, manufacturers can use alternatives such as bioplastics made of Polylactic Acid (PLA) derived from corn starch and potatoes or sustainable inks for packaging. These packages are biodegradable and can easily decompose under the right composting conditions. Plant-based packaging materials reduce pollution and the amount of waste ending up in landfills.

2. Rethink reusability

Reusable packages are containers that can be used multiple times throughout the lifecycle. These packages are made of HDPE plastic, glass, metal, or composite. They are easy to clean, long-lasting, and easily stackable, which makes them ideal for optimized storage spaces. Besides cost savings, rethinking reusability helps manufacturers control waste generation, lower carbon footprint, and reduce greenhouse emissions.

Manufacturers need to weigh several factors when selecting reusable packaging materials. Jars, for instance, can be reused and recycled multiple times without degradation, making them ideal for sustainability goals. However, unlike squeeze tubes that shield products from light and air, jars are more susceptible to exposure, potentially affecting product shelf life.

To address this, manufacturers should rethink packaging strategies to prioritize recyclability and reusability without compromising quality. For instance, over 75% of squeeze tubes in the US are now made from HDPE plastic, and 90% of toothpaste tubes are designed for recycling. This balanced approach supports both business objectives and sustainability efforts.

3. Ensure easy recycling

Recycling can be simple. Manufacturers can improve recyclability and streamline operations by choosing suitable recyclable materials, simplifying the designs, and standardizing the materials used for manufacturing. Take Hindustan Unilever, for instance. They wanted to reduce virgin plastic usage by 40% by 2028 and ensure that all packages use 100% reusable and recyclable plastic by 2030. Hindustan Unilever plans to achieve these goals by replacing virgin plastic with recycled plastic or another material, exploring new technologies, such as paper-based packaging and ultra-thin coatings made from bio-natural materials, and using new product formats that need less packaging and transport emissions. 

4. Reduce packaging size and material usage

Manufacturers require more storage space and heavy modes of transportation to ship large packages, which increases their overall carbon footprint and material costs. However, they can easily solve this problem by reducing the packaging size. Smaller packages mean manufacturers can transport more products simultaneously and won’t need too much material or void fillers for packaging. This will help manufacturers reduce emissions and transportation costs.

5. Opt for locally sourced material to minimize transportation emissions

Packaging alone is insufficient to maintain sustainability, especially if manufacturers have to source material from a long distance. Manufacturers must work with local suppliers to source the materials. This will help in minimizing harmful emissions during transportation.

How Can Artwork Management Tool Help?

Most often, manufacturers might not be able to overhaul their packaging systems and create eco-friendly packages. 

However, they can start by reducing waste caused by inefficiencies in managing artwork and complying with regulatory and branding guidelines. 

Let’s look at how manufacturers can do it with the help of an artwork management tool. 

1. Accurate dielines 

Dielines ensures that the packaging is produced accurately and consistently. It precisely shows how to cut, crease, and glue the packaging materials to create a specific shape and size. This helps minimize waste and achieve design accuracy. Artwork management tools offer dieline solutions that enable manufacturers to customize the dimensions based on product needs. It saves time and money on mock-ups and studio photography and accelerates the design-to-print process by providing interactive 3D visuals that reduce the artwork approval process. 

2. AI proofing reduces rework and wastage

Manufacturers can use AI-powered proofing tools to reduce rework and wastage caused by human errors. Most of these tools can analyze colors, layers, fonts, barcodes, and braille, perform spell checks for various languages, and compare multiple artwork versions pixel-to-pixel to improve accuracy and minimize errors.

3. Automated audits improve compliance

Artwork management tools automate the auditing process. This helps manufacturers avoid errors in designs and prints at an early stage and enables them to adhere to compliance regulations. 

4. Reuse templates

A good artwork management tool helps manufacturers build, approve, and manage all product packaging specifications, customize templates for various SKUs and components, and reuse existing specifications. 

5. Simulations lead to realistic prototyping

Manufacturers can simulate real-world interactions using an artwork management tool to understand how the prototype will function in the customer’s hands. This will help them build a prototype that meets the customer’s expectations and saves time and costs on developing packaging that is not aligned with sustainability goals.

Conclusion ‍

At a time when the world is committed to solving the pressing issues of recycling and sustainability, manufacturers have the responsibility of designing sustainable and eco-friendly packages. While using sustainable packaging materials, reducing packaging sizes and materials, and partnering with local suppliers to source materials are essential, manufacturers must also consider investing in a good artwork management tool. This will help manufacturers reduce the rework involved in creating, managing, and approving artwork and minimize wastage by automating audits.

ManageArtworks is an all-in-one artwork management platform that streamlines the artwork project designing process by centralizing them and minimizes waste due to rework and lack of compliance.

For more details about ManageArtworks, contact us.