Produce packaging goes sustainable

With the impacts of climate change making headlines from California to Florida, the produce industry is embracing sustainable packaging as a way to help protect the environment while meeting consumer demand for Earth-friendly products.                                                                                

The Packer’s 2022 Sustainability Insights Survey of more than 650 U.S. retailers, growers and consumers found that interest in sustainable packaging is on the rise. Sixty percent of consumers rated sustainable packaging as extremely important (33%) or very important (27%). The poll also found that many consumers are not deterred by higher prices; 40% reported a willingness to pay 5% to 10% more for bio-based packaging.

Among retailers, half named sustainability as a primary priority, and 21% called it a secondary priority. Forty percent of growers rated biodegradable packaging as having a “highly positive” impact on sustainability, while 31% said the same of recyclable packaging. Only 22% of retailers said that packaging providers are meeting their needs in providing sustainable supplies, indicating that the industry still has work to do.

Who’s driving demand

Demand for sustainable packaging is coming from multiple directions, according to experts in the packaging and produce industries.

“The consumer is the main driver for the demand, which puts pressure on the retailers to act,” said Jeff Watkin, director of marketing at Sev-Rend High-Performance Packaging, based in Collinsville, Ill. “This has led to several initiatives being pushed from larger retailers that, in turn, put pressure on the packer to meet said guidelines to retain business.”

Deep Silver, senior marketing director at Boskovich Family Farms in Oxnard, Calif., identifies consumers’ environmental concerns and the desire for transparency in food systems as the primary motivators behind the trend.

“This has become a hot priority for many folks,” said Silver, “and research tells us that over half of our target consumers take sustainable packaging into consideration when making their purchase decisions.”

Rachel Kenyon, senior vice president at Fibre Box Association in Itasca, Ill., also believes that consumers have become more conscious of packaging’s impact on the planet.

“There has been a tremendous backlash against plastic packaging and the toll it’s taken on the world’s waterways,” she said. “Consumers see this and they’re looking to brands and retailers to deliver more sustainable packaging options.”

Kevin Kelly, CEO at Emerald Packaging in Union City, Calif., offers a different perspective. Though consumers may claim they want sustainable packaging, he says, they continue to purchase traditionally packaged products — especially if the latter costs less. Increasingly, he said, legislation is fueling the sustainable packaging trend.

“Legislation encouraging the use of recyclable packaging or packaging with post-consumer recycled material, such as California’s [Senate Bill] 54, has provided a big push,” said Kelly. “Companies seeking to ride the sustainability wave often are the driving force, but the price of material often proves a long-term detriment to such projects.”

Trends and innovation

One of the simplest ways for produce companies to get on board with the sustainable packaging movement, says Watkin, is by reducing the amount of packaging materials used for their products. Adopting recyclable packaging is another big trend.

“Many companies are looking for recyclable options right now for their produce packaging,” he said. “The issue is that recycling still does not have the infrastructure to support all items for every consumer.” While 74% of the U.S. population has some form of recycling available to them, he adds, “This is often limited, and plastic is the one type that suffers.” 

In response, Sev-Rend introduced new plastic packaging last year that is fully recyclable and designed to fully degrade in marine and terrestrial environments. The Bio-Able Solutions line is available for most of the company’s current pouch, film, net and tag offerings.

“Even if it does not make it into the recycle stream, it still breaks down in a rapid period of time in its last 25% of the packaging’s life, leaving behind no micro-plastics,” said Watkin. “It does not necessarily need to depend on the infrastructure support required for other sustainable options.”

Silver confirms that packaging materials are evolving. “Across most categories, we are seeing innovation — from post-consumer recycled materials, to cellulose, to corn and even mushroom packaging,” she said. “The produce category is beginning to move toward biodegradable and compostable packaging, as well.”

This is certainly true for Boskovich’s subsidiary Fresh Prep. In July, the company launched Fair Earth Farms, the first brand in its category to package organic salad kits and salad blends in plant-based, fully compostable bags, printed with water-based inks.

“We spent over two years of rigorous testing to get the film to work with our various produce items,” said Silver, “as they all respire at a different rate.”

Emerald Packaging offers a full line of sustainable products, from post-recycled material to compostable packaging, yet Kelly is seeing clients move away from bio-based products that cannot be composted. “Interest in that is waning,” he said, “since such material doesn’t seem to impress consumers or grocers.”

Kenyon reports that corrugated packaging — made from wood fiber and other renewable resources — saw record sales in 2020 and 2021. “Today,” she said, “what we’re seeing is an even greater push to put more produce in sustainable corrugated packaging.”

Paramount to that effort will be ensuring that packaging products protect delicate fruits and vegetables from damage. “Durability and fit for use are crucial,” said Kenyon, “because consumers expect products to arrive in pristine condition.”

Counting costs

While adopting sustainable packaging typically means higher costs for growers, consumers polled in The Packer’s recent survey indicated that they are not averse to paying slightly higher prices for eco-packaged products.

“It is important to recognize that [adopting biodegradable and compostable packaging] is not an easy task for most companies,” notes Silver. “Companies are investing resources to find solutions for the demand and sometimes paying upwards of 25% more for sustainable packaging solutions.”

Higher prices will ultimately be passed to the consumer, she said, “but fortunately, our research tells us that consumers are willing to pay more for ‘doing the right thing.’”

Packaging manufacturers are also working to minimize additional costs for their customers. For example, Sev-Rend designed its Bio-Able line to be a drop-in for its original product lines. That way, notes Watkin, “companies are not having to make capital investments on new equipment in order to support their sustainability initiatives.”

Regulatory challenges

Despite demand for compostable produce packaging, the traditional materials from which they are made may pose regulatory challenges.

“You can get in real trouble for making false claims,” Kelly said. “For instance, California has a law that defines composability as meeting the relevant national standard, but that’s only for industrial composts. There is no home-composting standard, so making claims that a package is home-compostable could prove a big liability. A company could think it’s doing a good thing and end up in trouble.”

Companies across the produce industry will also feel impacts from Senate Bill 54, newly signed California legislation which requires all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032.

“We’re all going to have to pay fees — from [consumer packaged goods, or CPGs], to grocers, to packers, to the packaging manufacturer — to build recycling systems that can handle [everything] that currently goes into landfills,” said Kelly. “Some produce packaging may yet be exempt from the law, but that remains to be seen.”

In addition, the Federal Trade Commission plans to issue new regulations next year regarding “green” claims on packaging. “It’s likely to tighten claims considerably, and lead to lawsuits,” said Kelly. “Big fines will follow.”

Ultimately, he says, “we have to make traditional plastics fully recyclable and then build recycling systems that can handle the product and the additional tonnage. The produce industry will be at the forefront of doing that; though, for the most part, it doesn’t know that yet. Not many packers understand California’s new recycling law, but they soon will. It’s coming.”

The future of sustainable produce packaging

Watkin predicts that, by 2025, a lot more packaging will meet recycling standards. “The other option is reusable packaging,” he said, “but commitments from large CPG companies and retailers will need to be there in order to see that happen.”

Silver believes that companies across the produce industry will continue to move toward eco-friendly packaging.

“Whether it's through the use of compostable, biodegradable structures or recyclable, plantable, edible packaging,” she said, “everyone will find a way to contribute.” The key, she adds, is educating consumers and company owners about how to ship in smaller containers, reuse packaging and avoid overpacking products to keep them from ending up in a landfill.

Kelly contends that packaging that both can be and is recycled will win the day. “The other stuff, like compostable packaging, is just too scarce and too expensive,” he said. “Traditional plastic can be recycled. Now, California plans to build the systems, as do many states, that can actually recycle it. It’s going to happen.”