5 Ways to Make Packaging Holiday Products More Sustainable
There is much we can do to reduce packaging waste, while also increasing the recovery and recycling of the packaging we do use. Choosing paper-based packaging is one way to make sure more of your packaging is recycled as it’s recovered at the highest rate compared to all other packaging substrates. Over 83 percent of paper-based packaging is recovered for recycling in the EU. And in the U.S., over 65 percent of paper-based material was recovered for recycling in 2023. That increased to around 75 percent for corrugated cardboard alone. Here are a few paper packaging options to show you how you can achieve greater sustainability during the holidays and encourage your customers to be more sustainable as well.
1. Use paper-based tubs for holiday sweets and cookies
While it's hard to say just how many holiday cookies are consumed and sold every year around the world, we do know how much chocolate holiday revelers are putting in their bellies. Western Europe led the pack in 2023 by feeding its holiday sugar rush with 6.2 billion (USD) in seasonal chocolate sales, and North America wasn't far behind with 4.4 billion. As far as countries go, Switzerland wasn't neutral here, favoring chocolate at an average spend of $48 dollars a person.
Some of that European spend went to Nestlé Quality Street holiday chocolate tub, a popular buy for many households entertaining guests through the holidays. In past years, the tub was made from plastic, but for 2024, Nestlé worked with Smurfit Westrock to create a more sustainable paper-based version. Both versions of the tub will be sold in stores through the holidays so that Nestle can run a consumer trial of the new packaging.
During the holidays, many confectionary brands sell assortments of festive candy, chocolate or cookies in plastic containers or metal tins. However, it's possible to easily create a recyclable, paper-based version. Besides a traditional-looking tub, options include hexagonal-shaped tubes, rigid boxes, and rigid tubes.
Just note that the paperboard versions are not usually designed to double as a leftover container for Grandma's figgy pudding.
2. Make Advent calendar gifts out of paperboard or corrugated board
In 2022, around a quarter of the world population planned to buy an Advent calendar, with the seasonal gifts being most popular in Belgium, Sweden and Italy. As a popular way to indulge throughout the season, it's a great way to put your brand front and center on a daily basis. And while the idea started with chocolates, many brands are getting in on the tradition, providing daily samples of:
- Makeup and skincare
- Liquor, beer or wine
- Sauces, jams or spreads
- Dog treats
- Coffee or teas
- Crafting items
- Lego® bricks or other toys
When it came to chocolates, single-use plastic trays were a popular way to package daily samples through the season. As brands look for ways to be more sustainable, calendars made from paperboard or corrugated cardboard are becoming more and more popular.
Paperboard versions can be made in squares, rectangles or various holiday shapes, and perforated tear-outs can turned into pop-ups to make the packaging more engaging. Advent calendars for beer or wine can use more sturdy materials like a combination of paperboard and rigid boxes or corrugated cardboard. The premium design and printing on the cartons and boxes are what makes the packaging truly festive.
3. Eliminate the plastic packaging from your gift sets
The global gift boxes market was worth around $1.8 billion in 2024, and the winter holidays are the second biggest reason people purchase them. (Mother's Day is number one.) When it comes to a consumer choosing which gift set to buy, sustainable packaging has become a key differentiator. Gifts considered to be sustainable or eco-friendly compromise 20% of the gift market, and a majority of consumers would pay more for gifts in sustainable packaging.
Even when a gift set is packaged in a paper-based carton or a premium rigid box, it seems the set is often wrapped in plastic. Sometimes it's to protect the product but still allow it to be seen by shoppers, and sometimes it's for theft prevention (or both). To help you meet your sustainability goals, we provide ways you can protect your products in paper-based packaging, keep them together and allow them to be seen without wrapping a gift set in single-use plastic.
Whether you're packaging a beauty or skincare set, processed food or premium liquor, we're able to create packaging and graphics designs that showcase the product and eliminate plastic. Cartons or rigid boxes can be created with strategic cut-outs for product visibility and protection, and they can also be sealed to provide security.
4. Opt for natural kraft paperboard
The demand for kraft paperboard has increased in past years and has continued to rise due to the popularity of e-commerce and consumer demand for sustainability. The global market reached over 17 billion (dollars) in 2023 and is expected to reach 22.4 billion by 2032.
Because of the organic look, choosing natural kraft paperboard packaging designs can help communicate sustainability to consumers who are looking for it. It can also help brands looking to meet customers’ sustainability expectations. Recyclable packaging can easily be made from kraft paperboard. Additionally, the process for producing natural kraft can use less energy compared to the production processes of other paper substrates.
5. Print holiday designs on "right-sized" corrugated boxes and paper mailers
Consumers around the world are expected to spend 253 billion (dollars) in online sales during the 2024 holiday season, and over 70 percent of consumers surveyed said at least half of their holiday purchases would be made online. Besides choosing sustainable packaging, you can also help your online customers choose sustainability by making their decisions easier.
By using corrugate printed with holiday designs to make paper mailers or boxes, you can encourage your consumers to skip the wasteful gift wrapping. Boxes and mailers with colorful holiday designs can go right from your consumer's doorstep to a spot underneath their trees. Not only does that reduce waste from wrapping paper, but it saves your consumer time—something that can boost your customer experience.
By using fanfold already printed with holiday designs to feed a machine like the Opera, you can then make festive, right-sized packages for all of your products. Smurfit Westrock’s right-sized packaging automation,Panotec Opera machine, makes corrugated boxes of varying sizes in order to "right-size" packaging. It aligns box size with the programmed sizes of your products. This reduces corrugated waste.
Additionally, making sure your packaging is right-sized in general can lead to greater sustainability. If a box is too large for a product, it means you end up packaging a lot of air and empty space. The more packages are "right-sized," the more that air can be used to pack other boxes on a pallet or in your trucks. And when you don't need as many trucks on the road to transport products, you could reduce emissions long-term.
Similarly, when it comes to paper mailers, we provide printing plates for machinery like the Smurfit Westrock Pak On Demand™ automated mailer, so you can print holiday designs on the single-face corrugate it uses to make right-sized mailers. (We also offer WrapPro™ packaging automation that pairs with our FibreSeal™ heat-sealable extensible kraft paper.)
BONUS: Print graphics using more sustainable printing inks.
Holiday designs are festive, which means they often use packaging designs that are colorful, shiny, or textured, requiring high-end printing enhancements. Smurfit Westrock provides many printing techniques that make the printing process, and the inks that make your holiday designs, more sustainable. You can have shine, texture, and premium limited-edition prints without your packaging losing its recyclability.
These are just a few ways you can increase your sustainability during the holiday season, but our designers and innovators always have more ideas. Contact us to learn what more they can do to make your holiday packaging more sustainable.
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