Packaging materials have served as an essential component of shipping and transportation industries since the beginning of human civilization. Whether through the shipment of food, trade goods, building materials, and more, there have been hundreds of innovations in packaging materials over the centuries. While the Industrial Revolution saw a massive spike in how we approached packaging on a mass scale, there have been many advancements in the past few decades. These recent advances in packaging materials have led to several new trends and innovations that will likely shape the industry’s future in ways we can scarcely imagine. So, join us today as we explore the most recent innovations and speculate on what is likely to be the packaging materials of the future.
The Rise Of Eco-Friendly Packaging
One recent innovation that previous packaging innovators often overlooked was sustainable packaging and production practices. As the need for more and more packaging materials has grown, we have run into some significant hurdles that could be bypassed by the relatively smaller scale of the global economy in past decades. Nowadays, we face resource scarcity for petroleum products, considerable pollution problems, and a growing popularity for sustainability from all industry sectors.
Innovations in eco-friendly packaging are needed now more than ever, and companies who get on board with sustainability are finding it more accessible to source products than previously. Innovations such as paper tapes, strapping, and recyclable and reusable packaging products have reduced waste and become considerably cheaper than their more wasteful counterparts. Stretch film is a packaging product that has seen advancements impacting the packaging industry. It used to be that plastic products would be trashed, or in the worst case, burned, but now stretch film can be recycled, and even biodegradable advancements act to reduce the global output of the plastic trash epidemic.
Polyester Strapping Innovates Over Other Materials
Small-scale and light packaging materials, like stretch film, can only go so far in shaking up the shipping and transportation industries. On the larger scale is the advent of polyester strapping. While still a petroleum-derived plastic product, polyester isn’t the perfect solution, but it bridges a gap between sustainability and functionality.
Polyester strapping products have the same use cases that steel used to dominate but are safer, more accessible to produce, lighter, and more flexible. They combine all the best traits of flexible synthetic materials with a tensile strength that can withstand tremendous forces without failure. Moreover, polyester strapping is quickly becoming more and more popular as, at the end of its lifecycle, the material can be 100% recycled and recrafted into new polyester strapping materials, closing the loop that once spilled tons of packaging waste into landfills, oceans, and the air we breathe.
The Future Of Packaging Materials
Gone are the days of rampant industrial waste and uncontrolled production of packaging materials. Governments and the general public continue to push packaging materials to be more sustainable and eco-friendly as we turn our gazes toward the future. You can expect more significant penalties for wanton waste of materials and more incentives for sustainable solutions as most customers vote with their wallets, demanding low-cost solutions to formerly wasteful products.
Therefore, partnering with manufacturers aiming to push more sustainable products makes sense. Strapping-Products.com is your ally with eyes into the future of packaging material trends and innovations. While we are caught in this transitory period between the now and a more sustainable future, you can expect only the best from your strapping products and packaging materials from Strapping-Products.com. Browse our website or call 888-803-8140 to start your order today!
