Explore the future development of packaging from sustainable packaging

　　Sustainability is a hot topic this year, which also has a decisive impact on the packaging industry. Nowadays, green packaging has been widely used in various fields. People no longer focus on the profits brought by packaging, but choose to focus on the sustainable development of balancing economic benefits and environment. Sustainable packaging is a good choice in terms of both commercial and environmental protection.
　　Why choose more environmentally friendly and sustainable packaging? After gathering data, Hyde identified five underlying causes that directly demonstrate that sustainable business practices are critical to our future and potentially a huge boost to our economy.
　　
　　1.The planet needs sustainable packaging solutions
　　Globally, it is estimated that 42% of plastic is used in packaging, most of which is only used for single-use purposes, so the problems that plastic pollution causes in ecosystems are long-term and long-lasting.
　　The recycling rate is only 10%, which means 90% of plastic is burned, buried or thrown out into the environment. Plastic typically takes 20 to 400 years, or more, to decompose. The fragments or microplastics produced by the broken down plastic can remain in the atmospheric circulation, from water to food and soil, and everything we're involved in. Using sustainable packaging can break this negative cycle.
　　
　　2.More countries and regions are implementing laws to reduce plastic packaging
　　Hyde research team summarized the "plastic reduction" policies implemented by various countries in recent years, with clear data as follows:
　　In 2021, Australia announced its National Plastics Plan, which aims to ban single-use plastics by 2025. In addition to Australia, a growing number of countries and cities around the world are also moving to ban single-use plastics.
　　In the EU, the 2019 Single-use Plastics Directive aims to crack down on the 10 most common single-use plastic items found on European beaches, which account for 70% of all Marine litter in the EU.
　　In the US, states such as California, Hawaii and New York have introduced laws banning single-use plastics such as bags, forks and food containers.
　　In Asia, countries such as Indonesia and Thailand have led calls for measures to ban single-use plastics.
　　Morgan Stanley Research reports that from 2018 to 2019 alone, the number of companies adopting a "plastics strategy" more than doubled in the US from a year earlier. This shows that in the general trend of the future, enterprises are willing to pay relative profits to achieve environmental strategy. Of course, this does not exclude the commercial benefits that can be brought in the drive of sustainable packaging development may also be a major factor.
　　
　　3.Consumers are more interested in sustainable packaging materials
　　According to Hyde and Harris, e-commerce customers in the US, UK, France and Germany are all willing to work with companies that use sustainable packaging. In fact, more than 70 per cent of consumers in all of these countries share this preference, while more than 80 per cent of consumers in the UK and France prefer sustainable packaging. Consumers' love of sustainable packaging has led them to see paper packaging rather than plastic to protect their purchases.
　　Not only do consumers like to see paper used in packaging cases, a 2013 study found that paper was the most popular of 12 materials, ranking five spots ahead of plastic and even ahead of velvet.
　　
　　4.Sustainable packaging has good protection performance
　　Sustainable materials were used as packaging materials for thousands of years before plastics were widely commercially available. Paper is probably the oldest packaging in the world, along with other materials such as metal and glass, belonging to a pre-industrial group of packaging materials. Paper is recognized as one of the most sustainable materials in the world, and can be used for almost all applications of in-box packaging, even cold chain packaging. In many applications, paper offers better protection than plastic, sometimes up to 58%.

　　5.Sustainable business model
　　ESG（Environment、Society and Governance） strategy, as consumers and investors become increasingly eco-conscious, has been identified as a key part of the development of many companies. By improving their resource efficiency, companies can improve their scores and potentially gain more business value, including improved brand reputation, customer and employee loyalty, and access to capital.
　　ESG investments are growing in popularity. In the US alone, about a quarter of assets under management are ESG-rated investments -- a total of about $12tn. The circular economy is expected to generate $4.5 trillion by 2030.Companies that improve ESG performance are more likely to attract and retain talent.
　　
　　To sum up, based on the factors of global change, the increasing need for environmental protection actions, and the win-win needs of enterprises to achieve economic profits and sustainable development goals, it can be predicted that in the near future, the development of more green, recyclable and sustainable packaging materials will be the general trend of the development of the packaging industry. Hyde has also been following the trend of providing environmentally friendly paper packaging to customers around the world.