With regulations for packaging continuing to tighten, is there a risk that shoppers are being forgotten about?
Zoe Brimelow, a Director at packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo, looks at the importance of ‘people-focused packaging’ as retail shifts towards a circular economy.
Tightening regulations
Retail packaging is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades. Tightening sustainability regulations are demanding a rethink of packaging design, with objectives to improve resourcefulness and circularity, while reducing resource usage and carbon impact.
Most recently, the UK has seen the implementation of the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. This introduced new disposal fees for different types of packaging materials, shifting the financial impact of managing packaging waste from local authorities to large companies, like retailers, that supply or import packaging.
The EPR follows the UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax, which came into force in April 2022. Since then, affected businesses have been charged a levy per tonne of plastic packaging that doesn’t contain at least 30% recycled plastic. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is also being phased in across the EU, with this impacting any company, including UK-based retailers, that place packaging on the EU market.
Although the mechanics and finer details of each of these regulatory requirements differs, they all share goals to reduce environmental impact. New demands are being placed on industry to design for circularity, raising questions about whether the people-focused performance and requirements of packaging are being forgotten about.
Sustainable packaging trends
There are clear trends of packaging lightweighting, rightsizing, recyclability and reusability across industry. Companies often want stronger and more durable packaging materials at the lowest possible weights. Lighter formats can help reduce emissions throughout transportation and retail supply chains.
Using less material to minimise packaging dimensions and volumes may also help satisfy regulatory requirements such as the PPWR, while enabling retailers to address rising overheads to help protect shrinking margins. Reusable and stronger mailing bags can be beneficial for customer returns, helping to make sending items back more convenient and sustainable for shoppers.
These are all forward-looking trends, and packaging optimisation can deliver significant advantages, but doesn’t always translate into enhanced user experience. There’s actually a risk that designing for sustainability and circularity could, inadvertently, end up being a blocker for some consumers.
Packaging performance challenges
Thinner, downgauged packaging materials can prove unpredictable and, if not designed well, may compromise structural integrity. Packaging could become increasingly prone to tears, punctures and crushing, meaning a shopper’s order is exposed to damage during storage, handling and distribution. Clothing e-commerce orders may arrive stained, dirty or ripped, causing dissatisfaction and actually proving more unsustainable, as redelivery and salvaging are then required to correct a failed order.
On the flip side, thinner but stronger packaging materials could be harder for shoppers to open, especially for people with limited dexterity. This might prove a barrier and the importance of ‘easy open’ should not be overlooked. If people can’t easily and independently open packaging, they are more likely to look for alternatives that don’t present accessibility challenges.
Similarly, if packaging becomes torn apart because it’s hard to open, it can mean it becomes more difficult and less convenient to reuse for returns. McKinsey research has previously highlighted ‘easy open packaging’ as a crucial driver of convenience, brand perception and market growth. Practical, user-friendly designs suit fast-paced consumer lifestyles.
Packaging rightsizing can also run the risk of ‘designing-out’ consumer-friendly features such as carry handles on e-commerce mailing bags. This may seem like a small thing, but as shoppers increasingly rely on drop-off, pick-up points for collections and returns, such real-world usability can boost satisfaction to support brand reputation and loyalty.
Designing for both circularity and consumers
A balanced approach is required to ensure packaging continues to be designed for both circularity and consumer requirements. Innovations, for example, such as serrations and dual glue lines can enable easy opening on thinner, lighter, tougher packaging. These features can also boost reusability to make customer returns quicker and more sustainable.
It’s also possible to rightsize packaging, while improving usability. DuoOptipac, for example, is a mailing bag that features an integrated carry handle. This lies snug against the bag, maintaining capacity, while reducing overall volumetric dimensions. Nearly 850million DuoOptipac bags have been sold in six years, with demand growing as retailers and brands seek out user-friendly packaging that suits modern lifestyles.
Looking beyond design and innovation, it’s also important that evolving regulations don’t overlook usability. There are no industry guidelines to evaluate how changes in packaging design or materials affect ease of use. This is something Duo is looking to explore further through industry collaboration to ensure packaging continues to address the emerging challenge at the intersection of sustainability, usability and accessibility. In the interim, retailers and consumer brands should continue to design for circularity, but ensure that in doing so, their packaging retains real-world usability.
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