The greening of converting
To be in the package-printing and converting field today and not have a good understanding of the ins and outs of sustainability is to be hopelessly behind the curve. If that comment sounds a little insulting to you, good, because for the future of your business, being green must become as important a part of what you do every day as just about everything else. Not an afterthought, not a “me-too” attitude, not a marketing gimmick.
Our Green Converting Ideas focus this month shows just how far the industry has come in the past few years in embracing, then applying many of the concepts and practices of sustainability. According to the third annual “Sustainability in Packaging” study conducted by our sister publication Packaging Digest and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, awareness of the issue among industry professionals overall reached new highs this year, with 41 percent of the survey’s 1,000+ respondents saying they’re “very familiar” with sustainability issues versus 21 percent in the original 2007 study. If anything, converters are even more on the stick with 61 percent being “very familiar.”
And how is this familiarity manifesting itself? In a clear appreciation of the role that sustainability is playing in end-user customers’ buying decisions. Almost two-thirds of all the survey’s respondents say their customer’s voice—be it CPGs, retailers or actual consumers—has the most impact on how they pursue sustainability. For converters, that figure leapfrogs to 93 percent.
The $37.2-billion US green-packaging market is projected to grow about 5 percent a year at least through 2013, according to a Freedonia Group report. That demand will be met by converters using a combination of recycled and biodegradable materials, along with reusable packaging, and source reduction, biopolymers and container redesigns.
OK, so converters get it and are dedicated to serving their customers’ green packaging demands. But they’re also smart enough to know that sustainability means a lot more than just making Earth-happy boxes and bags. See Celplast Metallized Products’ in-depth manufacturing plans and positive operational results in the cover story sidebar, “Making money while going green.”
It’s clear that green is now ingrained in converting-and so it should be.
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Kevin Karstedt - Converting 2 Digital Blogger commented:
Just doing my homework, read your blog on “green” right after I read a tweet by JoAnn Hines, The Packaging Diva (twitter.com/packagingdiva) where she references a study; Lake Superior State University 2009 List of Banished Words www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php on which the whole “green” thing is at the top of the list of words to banish. At first glance the comments on “green” and how overused the related terminology is (i.e. going green, green technology”…) set me back, but upon further review, it goes nicely into your post today. We in the industry need to be “green” in our thinking and actions…this is for sure. Those who have to be careful in how they use the term are product and service marketers. They/we all need to make it look like “green” and “sustainability” are all “GIVENS” and not “me toos”. Good call Mark!
