Selling shoppers on sustainable packaging

Once upon a time, a package had a simple job to do: protect the product inside. But then manufacturers realized packages were effective marketing vehicles and designed them with plenty of real estate to crow about a product's benefits. Packages got bigger, shinier and sturdier. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the landfill: Consumers started to care about sustainability.

A recent report from Accenture, a global management consulting company, found that 80 percent of consumers believe climate change will affect their lives, and they're looking for products and packaging that offer sustainable solutions. According to the Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based business research company, demand for sustainable packaging is projected to increase 3.9 percent annually, creating a $41.7 billion market by 2014.

Consumers expect natural products, in particular, to come in sustainable packages. “Looking at the environmental benefits of your packaging is really necessary to maintain the brand attributes of your marketing,” says Adam Gendell, project associate at GreenBlue, a nonprofit organization that oversees the Sustainable Packaging Coalition.

At Natural Products Expo West in March 2011, the Responsible Packaging Coalition—a nonprofit collaboration of organic and natural products stakeholders—reinforced this concept by rewarding eight companies for raising the eco-bar on packaging standards. (Look for new awards at Natural Products Expo East this month.)

Here's a look at some of the top issues and trends in sustainable packaging that you'll likely see at Expo East and beyond.