Packaging
Growth in Sustainable Packaging Expected to Achieve Annual Growth of 25% to 30%
Monday 13. July 2009 - Biopack Environmental Solutions Inc. (OTCBB: BPAC) a leading designer, manufacturer, and supplier of 100% biodegradable packaging products comments on the current economic slowdown, and the outlook for its industry.
In its current Sustainable Packaging fact sheet, Industrial giant E.I. DuPont Nemours and Company estimates that growth in sustainable packaging to reach 25%-30% per year, compared with the overall packaging industry’s anticipated growth rate of 4%. As well, they add that 44% of consumers say their green buying habits remain unchanged despite the current economy, and a third of consumers say they are more likely to buy green today than previously.
This is consistent with another new study from Pike Research, which says that sustainable packaging is a fast-growing segment of the global packaging industry, and will grow to 32% of the total market by 2014, up from just 21% in 2009.
Municipalities around the world are beginning to contribute to the growth of sustainable packaging as they square off to face the high cost of waste disposal. Across Canada and the U.S. local governments are proposing to ban Polystyrene containers, with California leading the way. The China Daily newspaper reports that the city of Beijing, which expects to exceed its landfill capacity within the next five years, has already imposed a ban on the use of plastic bags – the China State Counsel estimated that plastic bag production squandered 37 million barrels of crude oil every year. In June of 2009, the UK government announced a new plan to improve materials’ recyclability and the end-of-use recycling of packaging. The UK is currently considering a ban on aluminum and glass packaging in landfills.
Gerald Lau, Biopacks CEO, says that he is encouraged by these predictions of robust growth – “Despite the global economic slowdown, consumers are demanding more environmentally friendly products and companies like Biopack are taking the opportunity to create new markets, develop new ideas and stimulate demand for our products. Biopack Environmental Solutions was founded on the principle of creating a durable line of consumer packaging that is both eco friendly and easily biodegradable. As more packaging decision makers opt for sustainable packaging solutions, our company looks to be ideally positioned to grow with the trend towards more ecologically sound and socially responsible consumer packaging.”