In the last few years, greenwashing has become rampant. The push to make environmentally-conscious marketing claims has trumped integrity in far too many cases, confusing consumers and dragging down the true value of authentic sustainable business efforts. This is perhaps nowhere more evident than in the packaging market.

Now Greener Package, with input from Environmental Packaging International and the Packaging Knowledge Group, has released the industry’s first comprehensive guidelines to packaging sustainability claims. These new parameters will be used to evaluate packaging and products being submitted to their Greener Product Database.

EPI’s Victor Bell says “Consumer demand for sustainably produced products is a key driver in promoting progress at the manufacturing level. Third-party validation is critical in combating greenwashing, which—if left unchecked—could erode consumer confidence and ultimately the public’s interest in buying sustainable products and packaging.”

The idea is that consumer brands and packaging supply companies will look at this validation as the last step in a complicated and expensive sustainable packaging effort, one that marks their product and package as a truly sustainable item, differentiating it in the market and giving them a solid return on all that investment.

Find out more >

Tags: green business, packaging, shopping, sustainable business