Sustainability is increasingly coming to the fore, also in the area of product packaging. Hardly any manufacturer or packaging company can escape this development. But which packaging is really ecological? We have compared two of the most important: Stand-up pouch, also known as Doypack, and packaging solutions made of glass.

Why is sustainable packaging gaining relevance?

Sustainable packaging is becoming increasingly important.

Packaging is indispensable for many products. They protect various contents during transport, storage and sale, help meet hygiene regulations and, in some cases, extend shelf life. In addition, they provide the customer with information about the respective product, its ingredients and/or its use.

However, they cause large amounts of waste. According to the Federal Environment Agency, around 18.9 million tons of packaging waste were generated in Germany alone in 2019. That corresponds to just under 228 kg per German citizen - and the trend is rising.

In view of increasingly pressing environmental problems, it is time to fundamentally rethink the packaging system. Packaging must be saved, material cycles must be closed, and packaging must be designed to be more recyclable from the outset. In this respect, sustainable packaging solutions offer several advantages at once, because they

• conserve resources,
• counteract the flood of waste,
• Reduce the amount of disposable packaging
• and do not unnecessarily pollute the environment during their manufacture or disposal.

Many consumers are now aware of the positive effects of sustainable packaging. But legislators are also imposing increasingly stringent requirements.

For companies, switching to ecological packaging is an elementary investment in their future viability.

What are the criteria for sustainable packaging?

Packaging is considered sustainable if it is made from renewable, recycled or recyclable raw materials and/or is biodegradable. At the same time, they have a significantly lower impact on the environment along their entire value chain than conventional packaging solutions. The following terms have become established in this context:

• Environmentally friendly packaging(produced in a way that conserves resources and the environment)
• recyclable packaging (can be reused or recycled )
• Biological packaging (made exclusively from natural, renewable raw materials)
• reusable packaging(can be used several times)
• biodegradable packaging( decomposableby biological activity)
• Compostable packaging(decomposable into compost)
• low-emission packaging(low carbon footprint).

So far, there is no packaging solution to which all these specifics apply equally. Consequently, there is also no such thing as "the most sustainable packaging". The following ranking (from "very sustainable" to "hardly sustainable"), which is based on the life cycle assessments of various types of packaging, provides some orientation:

1st place. without packaging
2nd place. reusable packaging
3rd place. paper and cardboard
4th place. organic plastic
5th place. ordinaryplastic.

What are the advantages of the Doypack as sustainable packaging?

The doypack is a flexible packaging whose bottom is designed to remain upright. Hence the name Stand-up pouch. Doypacks are suitable for a wide variety of fillings.

They are frequently used, for example, in the food, dietary supplement and pet food sectors. But they can also contain seeds, detergents, cosmetics and many other products.

The Doypack is named after its inventor, the Frenchman Louis Doyen. The director of a packaging factory based in St. Germain au Mont D'or had been looking for a way to package olives and fruit juices in a long-lasting and safe manner. The wrapping had to be lighter than a glass bottle or a pot, but still stand upright during transport.

In addition, Doyen attached importance to resealability. And voilà: With his stand-up pouch, he revolutionized the packaging industry.

The doypack is significantly lighter than a glass bottle or a tin can. Even larger versions often weigh only a few grams. Even PET bottles can't keep up with that. The low weight is due to the economical use of the material. Nevertheless, the Stand-up pouch is extremely robust and stable.

Unlike cardboard packaging, which is also very light, Doypacks withstand pressure better and do not soften when exposed to moisture. They can also be resealed quickly and easily. In conjunction with the stand-up base, this prevents any unintentional leakage of the contents.

Compared to packaging solutions made of glass, the Doypack scores with significantly lower material consumption, which also results in less waste overall.

In addition, transport and storage costs are lower because the stand-up pouch is much lighter and can be stored in a more space-saving manner due to its flexibility. This reduces fuel costs and transport-related CO2 emissions.

What is the importance of the material for the sustainability of the Doypack?

Doypacks can be made of a wide variety of materials. The most common combinations of materials are:

• Composite plastics (for example, PET-PE, PET-Alu-LDPE),
• Mono-plastics (for example PE-EVOH-PE, PP-EVOH-PP) and
• Kraft paper materials (for example, kraft paper-EVOH-PE, kraft paper-sugar cane-PE).

Depending on the material, the Stand-up pouch offer a wide variety of properties in terms of feel, food conformity, print image and recycling. Doypacks made of kraft paper materials are very popular with consumers, but they are not always recyclable.

To be fully recyclable, Stand-up pouch must be made of a mono-material . This means that both the containers themselves and components such as zippers are made of the same material, for example PP film + PP zipper.

There are also industrially compostable or plastic-free Doypacks with inner coatings of ultra-thin lacquers or bio-materials. However, these have a lower barrier function than bags with an EVOH or aluminum barrier. In addition, they are usually less stable and durable.

How convincing is glass as sustainable packaging?

Glass is one of only a few materials that are completely recyclable. Packaging solutions made of reusable glass in particular meet the highest sustainability requirements.

Glass packaging consists almost exclusively of raw materials that are available everywhere in nature in sufficient quantities. This means that the raw materials do not have to be transported halfway around the world.

The use of recycled glass in particular improves the eco-balance in the production of bottles and jars. It now accounts for almost two-thirds of glass packaging production.

A distinction must be made between disposable and reusable glass. Disposable glasspackaging does not have a good environmental balance. It is true that they can be melted down as often as required and formed into new containers. However, the energy consumption is very high.

Reusable bottles, which can be refilled up to 50 times before being melted down, have a significantly better record without any qualitative disadvantages. Provided it does not break beforehand, reusable glass packaging can be used again and again for around six years.

How are glass packaging reusable for the consumer?

Disposable bottles and jars do not necessarily have to end up in the bottle bank after being emptied. Many consumers continue to use glass containers with screw lids in the home, for example to store sugar, pasta or coffee, or to fill with home-made jam or "cake in a jar. Furthermore, old jars are very suitable:

• to keep fresh in the refrigerator
• For freezing
• as a preserving jar for fruit from your own garden
• as a shopping container for unpacking stores

Small jars like honey tasting jars can easily be turned into salt and pepper shakers by punching a few holes in the lid. In the same way, a slightly larger jar can be made into a powdered sugar shaker.

As flower vases, glass jars do just as well as herb pots, as pen holders or as candlesticks. In addition, jars are very suitable for storing spices, teas or small parts such as screws and nails.

They are also often used as lanterns or souvenir glasses. There are no limits to the imagination, neither in use nor in design.

Both bottles and jars are more versatile than almost any other packaging. There are countless upcycling ideas on the Internet that are usually easy to implement.

Recycling glass in the home can improve the eco-balance of single-use glass containers.

What are the disadvantages of Doypacks and glass packaging in terms of sustainability?

Conventional stand-up pouches typically consist of several layers of different types of plastic. In addition, there are often layers of aluminum. This makes recycling more difficult and increases the amount of non-recyclable plastics.

Doypacks made of monomaterials have a better life cycle assessment, but they are more difficult to form and seal. High packaging performance can only be guaranteed by complex forming, filling and sealing processes, which in turn increases the cost of this packaging.

The disadvantages of the glass container are the energy-intensive production process and the significantly higher weight compared to the Doypack. The latter increases transport costs for producers and retailers as well as for customers.

Unfortunately, for reasons of stability, the glass thickness cannot be reduced at will in order to save weight. Particularly in food production, no compromises are possible in this respect, as glass must not be too fragile in this area of application.

Conclusion

Both Doypacks and glass packaging have earned a good reputation as sustainable packaging solutions. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, which need to be weighed up thoroughly.

Stand-up pouches have a lower carbon footprint than glass bottles and jars in terms of production and transport, but they cannot always be recycled. Glass packaging, on the other hand, is ahead in terms of recyclability, but loses ground to doypacks due to their energy-intensive production and the higher transport costs due to their weight.

Ultimately, both the use of Doypacks and the use of glass packaging can prove to be a more sustainable solution. It is important to use the packaging variants in an ecologically sensible way in the respective area of application and also to communicate the advantages to consumers.

After all, many of them are quite willing to pay more for sustainable packaging if they are actually convinced of its benefits.

FAQ

1. What are the advantages of Stand-up pouch apart from sustainability?
   Doypacks are convincing, among other things, because of their stability and tear resistance, easy handling and resealability. However, they also owe their popularity as sales packaging to their diverse design options.

2. What is CO2 and how are CO2 emissions caused?
   CO2 is the chemical formula for carbon dioxide. This is a greenhouse gas that causes global warming as its concentration in the earth's atmosphere increases. CO2 emissions occur when carbon-containing materials such as wood, coal and oil are burned.

3. What does sustainability mean?
   The term "sustainability" was coined by forestry expert Hans Carl von Carlowitz in the early 18th century. He understood sustainability as not harvesting more than nature allows to grow back. By today's standards, it also means ensuring that the environment is not damaged by dirty water, emissions or toxins.