Blog Post: Sustainable Packaging in Action Webinar Highlights

Sustainable Packaging in Action: Case Studies of Leading Industry Redesigns

Webinar Highlights 

 1. Opening Theme: Sustainable Packaging as a Strategic Shift

• The industry is moving from trend-based sustainability to a strategic, systemic approach.

• Key principle: Design for end-of-life—thinking from the start about how packaging can be reused, recycled, or composted.

• Early design decisions can drive impact reduction, efficiency, and circularity.
  
  

 2. Paper-Based Packaging Redesigns

• Duracell: Switched from plastic to paper-based packs, cutting 800,000+ lbs of packaging annually.

• Nestlé: Paper-based coffee can improve recyclability and reduce plastic.

• Mondelez (Lu Biscuits): Recyclable mono-paper reduces virgin plastic by 177 metric tons.

• Unilever (Knorr): Wrappers switch to recyclable paper, preserving quality and expanding across SKUs.

• Dr. Scholl’s: Moves to paperboard structure to enhance consumer interaction and unify brand presence.

• Dole: Paperboard bowl replaces plastic for smoothie line—97% plastic reduction.

• Aveda + Xela Pack: Launches recyclable paper sample packets with dramatic impact reductions.

• SC Johnson: Replaces thermoforms with paperboard for easier recycling.

• Mondi Group: Hug&Hold kraft wrap reduces emissions vs plastic beverage multipack rings.
  
  

3. Plastic Packaging Improvements

• Every Man Jack: Uses 50% PCR in mono-material design—improves recyclability and cuts virgin plastic by 500K lbs/year.

• Stumptown Coffee: Switches to lighter, more recyclable multilayer plastic with 30% PCR.

• Project Clean: Redesigns bottles for better shipping efficiency and reduced plastic using 100% PCR.

• Coca-Cola: Develops plant-based, fully recyclable PET bottle prototypes compatible with recycling systems.

• McCormick: New spice bottles with 50% PCR, SnapTight lids, and upgraded freshness-preserving tech.
  
  

4. Lightweighting & Format Optimization

• Crystal Light: Transitions to stick packs, cutting 250 tons of packaging annually.

• Garçon Wines: Doubles pallet efficiency with flat-pack wine bottles.

• Johnnie Walker: Breaks tradition with world’s lightest whisky bottle—reduces material dramatically.
  
  

5. Challenges & Ecosystem Realities

• Even committed brands (e.g., PepsiCo) face setbacks due to supply chain limitations, infrastructure, and regulatory complexity.

• Trend: Brands are dialing back on big promises and focusing on what’s immediately feasible—like more PCR use and better design practices.
  
  

 6. Looking Forward: What’s Next in Sustainable Packaging

1. Design for Collection, Not Just Recyclability

2. Simplifying Materials to reduce recycling friction and EPR penalties

3. Smart/Digital Labeling to enable sorting and traceability

4. AI + LCA-driven Lightweighting

5. Modular, Refillable Packaging Systems

6. EPR-Informed Innovation Pipelines

7. Transparent Environmental Impact Reporting

Resources:

1. Sustainable Packaging Coalition. (2025). Packaging and Sustainability.

2.  Connolly, K.B. (2025, Jan. 27). Duracell Chucks Plastic Blisters for Paper. Packaging Digest. 

3. Sustainable Packaging News. (2024, Oct. 3). Paper Packaging Innovation: Sonoco’s fully recyclable 95% paper-based cans. 

4. Nestlé. (2025). Our packaging strategy.

5. Sonoco. (2024, Oct. 3). Sonoco Introduces Latest Paper Packaging Innovation with Fully Recyclable 95% Paper-Based Cans.

6. The PackHub. (2024, Dec. 11). Nestlé Paper-Based Can for Coffee Products, Mondelez Mono-Paper Packs for Biscuits, Unilever's Knorr Stock Cubes in Paper Wrappers. Packaging World. 

7. Pringles. (n.d.). Let’s talk about our famous Pringles tubes. [Online image].

8. The Pack Hub. (2024). The Innovation Zone. 

9. Saica. (n.d.). Get to Know Saica Group. 

10. Science Based Targets. (2025). Ambitious Corporate Climate Action. 

11. Forest Stewardship Council. (2025). The future of forests is in our hands.

12. C-P Flexible Packaging. (2025). Short-run Cold-seal Packaging for Co-packers. [Online image]. 

13. Confederation of European Paper Industries. (n.d.). Product Innovation.

14. TESCO. (2025). What's new this week. 

15. Unilever. (2025). Our latest news stories. 

16. Connolly, K.B. (2023, Aug. 18). Dr. Scholl’s New Paper Packaging: Better Shoppability, Sustainability. Packaging Digest.

17. Connolly, K.B. (2024, July 16, 2024). Paper’s the Star of Dole’s Frozen Food Packaging Redesign. Packaging Digest. [Online image]. https://www.packagingdigest.com/sustainability/paper-s-the-star-of-dole-s-frozen-food-packaging-redesign

18. Zim Packaging. (2024, Aug. 19). Paper’s the Star of Dole’s Frozen Food Packaging Redesign. 

19. Dole. (n.d.). Dole Acai Bowl Original. [Online image]. 

20. American Salon. (2011, Oct. 25). Aveda Reaches New Sustainable Packaging Milestone. [Online image]. 

21. Estée Lauder Companies. (2025, Apr. 28). Aveda Announces Improved Innovation of Paper-Based, Recyclable Sachets, Now Offered Globally.

22. SC Johnson. (2024, Mar. 14). Thinking Outside the Box: How SC Johnson is Redesigning Packaging to Reduce Plastic Waste and Promote Circularity. 

23. Yahoo! (2024, May 24). Mondi’s hug&hold paper packaging cuts climate impact. 

24. Yahoo! (2024, May 24). Mondi’s hug&hold paper packaging cuts climate impact. [Online image].  

25. Nancy Jackson Designs. (2025). Sustainable Brand & Packaging Design Studio. https://nancyjdesign.com/

26. Pyzyk, K., & Rachal, M. (2025, May 8). Packaging innovations: PCR plays from CG Roxane, Every Man Jack, Stumptown Coffee. Packaging Dive

27. Stumptown Coffee Roasters. (2017, October 2). Stumptown Coffee’s new bags. [Online image]. Daily Coffee News. 

28. Moss Cafe. (2025). Stumptown Coffee bag. [Online image]. Moss Provisions. 

29. BNP Media. (2022, October 10). A sustainable, custom solution for a product redesign launch. Packaging Strategies.

30. AIISA. (n.d.). Project Clean Group logo. [Online image]. 

31. Verdict Media Limited. (2023, April 4). Coca-Cola’s 100% Plant-Based Bottle. Packaging Gateway. 

32. Unknown. (2012, March). Say hello to Coke in PlantBottle packaging [Online image]. Cargo Collective. 

33. Informa Markets. (2023, March 15). McCormick Redesigns Packaging for Sustainability, Freshness. Packaging Digest

34. Valinsky, J. (2023, March 14). Say goodbye to the old cap on McCormick spice bottles. WKOW. 

35. Amazon.com, Inc. (2025). McCormick spice rack [Online image]. Amazon.com. 

36. McCormick Spice. (2024, July 29). Got the gold in the seasoning event! [Online image]. Facebook. 

37. Casey, L. (2014, Jan. 29. Kraft redesigns Crystal Light packaging for better shelf appeal and sustainability. Packaging Digest. 

38. Auof, R.S. (2019, Mar. 7). Garçon Wines create flat wine-bottle case that's greener to ship. dezeen. 

39. Scotchwhisky.com. (n.d.). Johnnie Walker Profile. [Online image]. 

40. Haslam, C. (2024, Sept. 13). This Is How Johnnie Walker Made the World’s Lightest Whisky Bottle. Wired. 

41. Diago. (2024). How Johnnie Walker Ultra took a leap into the future. [Online image]. 

42. Diageo. (2024, Sept. 13). Johnnie Walker unveils world’s lightest whisky glass bottle. 

43. Pyzyk, K. (2025, May 22). PepsiCo resets packaging sustainability goals, ditches reuse target. Packaging Digest. [Online image]

44. Pappalardo, G. (2025, May 30).  PepsiCo’s Sustainability Revisions: Reminders of a Hard Truth. LinkedIn. 

45. Rachal, M. (2024, July 31). Mars doubts it can achieve 2025 sustainable packaging targets. Waste Dive. 

46. Horton, H. (2024, Dec. 3). Coca-Cola accused of quietly dropping its 25% reusable packaging target. The Guardian. 

47. Lankford, S. (2023, Aug. 17). The Future of Sustainable Packaging in an EPR World. Packaging Digest. 

48. Jones. M. (2025, Apr. 24). Commentary: How EPR is transforming the packaging industry. Recycling today.

49. LinkedIn Brand. (n.d.). Downloads. 

50. The Packaging School. (2025). reDesign Your Package

Additional Resources

• Size Sortation
• Small Plastics Recovery Report
• Terminology List
• You can watch the webinar here.