The holiday shopping season is expected to bring a wave of buying and a mountain of non-recyclable packaging with it.
The growing trend of sustainability has led to companies innovating packaging in order to lessen their environmental impact and consumers opting for more eco-friendly shipping materials.
Sal Abbate, CEO of Veritiv Corporation VRTV, said on Yahoo Finance Live that they're investing a lot of their energy and innovation around sustainable products, sustainable design, sustainable materials, and replacing things like Styrofoam and some plastics that are not recyclable. While polystyrene foam, or styrofoam, can be lightweight and convenient for shipping, it can take centuries to biodegrade and can leach chemicals that are potentially toxic to wildlife and humans.
Abbate said there was a sea change going on. People used to say that folks wouldn't pay for sustainable products. I think those days are gone. In October 2020, a McKinsey survey showed that consumers' attitudes toward sustainable packaging had begun to shift during the epidemic. 60 - 70% of consumers surveyed said they would pay more for sustainable packaging.
The UN believes that if current trends continue, the plastic industry could account for 20% of the world's total oil consumption by the year 2050 and reduce the reliance on plastics used for packaging may help reduce carbon emissions to fight climate change.
Abbate is optimistic about rolling out more sustainable packaging materials, despite the UN projections.
He said that change is not decades away and it is likely that it will be in the near future.