Materials for packaging

5. Sustainable packaging materials

To assess whether or not a packaging material can be classified as sustainable it is necessary to look at it's environmental impact from sourcing of raw materials, through processing and fabrication, transport, to lifespan and disposal. This is sometimes called the cradle to grave impact or life-cycle assessment.

Sustainable materials must have a low impact on resources (e.g. be made from renewable or recycled resources), be sourced/extracted/produced in an environmentally friendly way that does not destroy or pollute the environment, should be light-weight and non-bulky to reduce the environmental impact during transport/distribution and ideally, instead of being disposed after use, it should be reusable, recycable or biodegradable.