Top Packaging Trends 2023: “Plastics circularization” leads sustainability charge
Innova Market Insights has revealed its top packaging trends for 2023, with “Plastics circularization” taking the lead spot. Plastic packaging consumption will continue to grow despite anti-plastic sentiment and increasingly stringent waste management regulations. Forward-thinking brands see a future for plastic packaging that can support the circular economy. Greenwashing fears will abound amid a surge in on-pack environmental claims, creating opportunities for brands that can defend sustainability messaging with validated science. Meanwhile, paper-based and bioplastic packaging, connective technologies and reusable packaging systems will continue to gain traction on the journey toward greater environmental sustainability.
Carrot compound used to make fully degradable polymer
Carrots come in a rainbow of bright colors, red, orange, yellow and purplish black, because of compounds called carotenoids. They help support eye health by reacting with potentially harmful UV light. Interestingly, the molecular structures of carotenoids, such as β-carotene, are similar to the building blocks of some polymers. Researchers have incorporated a compound derived from β-carotene into a polymer that’s fully degradable.Another possible benefit is that these compounds break apart in the presence of UV light and certain chemicals.