The top 35 Consumer Packaged Goods companies have committed to ambitious 2025 goals for sustainable packaging, but there’s already doubt in their ability to execute. Designers have a crucial role to play.

While we’ve made strides in curbside recycling for everyday waste, today’s complex packaging materials often end up in the wrong places. Many supposedly eco-friendly items end up as waste in landfills or harming nature. By understanding different materials and how they move through the waste process, we can leverage design to make a real difference: right now.

This isn't just about ideas – it’s about giving you practical principles to design packaging that matches the way we recycle and handle consumables today. The Practical Guide to Sustainable Packaging Design is aimed to equip you with a framework to measure how successful and sustainable your packaging really is, and how to be effective in pushing for even better solutions.

• Broad understanding of packaging sustainability themes
• Practical knowledge and resources to design and think critically about sustainable packaging
• Insights into current market and legislative trends surrounding sustainability in the packaging industry

1. The state of our systems

2. Sustainability by design

3. What does the future hold?

Michelle Mattar is the founder of Practice, a brand building firm focused on ethical commerce, and Waste Not, a not-for-profit making sustainable design resources free and accessible. Michelle has 10+ years of experience launching new products to market that can adapt for change, spark positive trends, and set ethical standards. Michelle believes that while design is fundamental, it is not the only thing that makes a successful brand. Her passion for eco-consciousness led her to mandate sustainability scopes for all of her clients and to create Waste Not, simplifying access to sustainable suppliers. Michelle is dedicated to harnessing the considerable cultural impact of brands to help facilitate meaningful change.

Brian Schmatz is a Senior Business Development Manager for trinamiX GmbH, where he focuses on new applications for Near-Infrared (NIR) hardware and software services. He holds a PhD in polymer chemistry and has extensive industry experience in plastics recycling, color science, and corporate sustainability. In his current role, Brian frequently engages with stakeholders across the plastics recycling industry and leads an Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) working group that develops design guidelines for packaging recyclability.

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