Multi-material flexible packaging is material-efficient, lightweight and low impact, but its inability to be effectively recycled or otherwise recovered in an environmentally beneficial manner has always been its Achilles’ heel.

Flexible packaging is proving to be one of the fastest growing segments in the rapidly changing print market.

While consumer packaging waste has been a key focus over the last decade, commercial and industrial packaging is being scrutinized now more than ever.

For Fritz Yambrach, professor and director of packaging at San Jose State University in California, decades of experience in the packaging industry and concern for access to water in impoverished or disaster areas led to an idea for a simple, yet life-changing solution: the Fritz Water Vest.

It’s estimated that 18,000 single-serve coffee pods are discarded every minute. In fact, lined up, the pods that are thrown away each year could circle the Earth more than 10 times. 

New developments in flexible packaging aren't just making the packaging format more convenient for the consumer, but for the environment as well.

Industry experts argue that the sustainable properties of plastic, particularly plastic film labels, make the material a prime choice for consumers, manufacturers and brands that seek an eco-friendly alternative.

With a mission to manufacture and supply sustainable flexible packaging for the pre-packaged food and consumer products markets, Sugar Land, Texas-based Accredo Packaging is no stranger to viable, eco-friendly practices.

When major coffee manufacturers introduced single-serve coffee pods a few years ago, they probably weren’t bargaining for national news coverage and contentious debates.

Sealed Air’s Food Care Division received Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards for two packaging innovations at the Flexible Packaging Association’s 59th annual Achievement Awards and Innovation Showcase.