August 2026
Packaging Has More Options Than Ever, So Why Is Choosing Getting Harder?

Welcome to the Sustainable Design Lab Newsletter, your monthly update on the innovations, regulations, and real-world strategies reshaping the future of packaging. We’re sharing what we’re seeing across our labs, our supplier ecosystem, and the conversations happening with brands every day.

If you crave to have the latest insights, trends, and expert advice sent directly to your inbox or phone every month, then subscribe to Sustainable Packaging Newsletter now!

Packaging Has More Options Than Ever. So Why Is Choosing Getting Harder?

Packaging teams have more options at their fingertips than ever before.

New materials are expanding what’s possible. AI is creating new ways to evaluate packaging decisions. Fiber-based formats are moving into new applications. Lightweighting, next-generation barriers, circular design strategies, and emerging technologies are giving brands more ways to balance performance, sustainability, cost, and consumer expectations.

More options should make choosing easier. But often, they do the opposite.

Every new possibility comes with another set of questions. Will it perform? Does it work within existing operations? What does it mean for cost? How will consumers respond? Is the right infrastructure available? And how does it fit into sustainability and regulatory priorities?

That’s why this month’s newsletter is doing something a little different.

We’re taking you inside Sustainably Packaged, our magazine from the Sustainable Design Lab exploring the trends, innovations, emerging technologies, and ideas influencing what’s next in packaging.

We’ll explore why innovation isn’t always the biggest barrier to progress, what consumers actually notice about sustainable packaging, how AI could influence packaging decisions, why better doesn’t have to mean perfect, and what organizations can learn by starting small.

Because as the number of packaging possibilities grows, knowing how to evaluate what’s right for your business may be just as important as knowing what’s possible.

Let’s take a look inside…

When Innovation Isn’t the Bottleneck

More options should make packaging decisions easier. In practice, they can make them significantly more complex.

A packaging change rarely affects one priority in isolation. Teams may need to consider:

Cost and total system impact
Product protection and performance
Consumer experience
Sustainability goals
Recycling and recovery infrastructure
Regulatory requirements
Supply chain resilience

And those priorities don’t always point toward the same solution.

That’s why access to innovation is only part of the equation.

The organizations making meaningful progress are also developing better ways to evaluate tradeoffs, test assumptions, gather data, and move forward without waiting for every unknown to disappear.

The opportunity isn’t simply finding the newest solution. It’s building the confidence to choose the right one.

👉 Read About When Innovation is no Longer the Bottleneck HERE

What Consumers Actually Notice

Packaging professionals spend a lot of time thinking about substrates, coatings, barriers, recyclability, manufacturing requirements, and material performance.

Consumers experience the package very differently.

They notice whether it protects the product. Whether it’s easy to open, use, store, and dispose of. Whether it feels consistent with the brand. And increasingly, whether the sustainability claims on the package make sense to them.

That distinction matters.

A technically impressive packaging solution can still create friction if consumers don’t understand how to use or dispose of it. Likewise, a material change that appears relatively small from an engineering perspective can meaningfully change how a product or brand is perceived.

The challenge is connecting technical performance with intuitive consumer experience.

Because successful sustainable packaging isn’t only about what a material can do. It’s also about whether people understand and trust the experience it creates.

👉 Read “When Sustainable Packaging Doesn’t Look Sustainable” HERE

👉 Read What Consumers Actually Notice HERE

AI Is Entering the Packaging Conversation

AI is quickly becoming part of conversations across design, manufacturing, supply chain, sustainability, and packaging.

But its most valuable role may not be making decisions for us, it may be helping us make better-informed decisions faster.

AI can help teams analyze large datasets, compare scenarios, identify patterns, and explore potential tradeoffs. But the quality of those outputs still depends on the quality of the inputs, assumptions, and objectives behind them.

Incomplete data remains incomplete data. Misaligned priorities remain misaligned priorities.

And a sophisticated model can’t determine what matters most to your business unless those priorities are clearly defined.

As these tools become more capable, strong packaging strategy will become more important, not less.

AI can expand what teams are able to evaluate. People still have to decide what matters.

Read “AI Won’t Fix Packaging, But It Will Expose Bad Decisions” HERE

Beyond PCR:
Why Sustainable Packaging Can’t Be Reduced to a Single Metric

In this episode, hosts Chris Bradley and Brodie Vander Dussen sit down with Jay Bolus from IPG to explore why recycled content alone doesn’t tell the full sustainability story. The conversation looks beyond PCR percentages to examine how material reduction, performance, recyclability, manufacturing, and overall resource use shape a package’s impact. They break down why focusing too heavily on a single metric can create unintended tradeoffs, and how a more holistic approach can help teams make smarter, more informed packaging decisions.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium: Zero Waste at 73,000 Seats

In this episode, hosts Chris Bradley and Brodie Vander Dussen sit down with Andrew Bohenko, Sustainable Initiatives Manager at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, to explore what it takes to operationalize sustainability at one of the largest event venues in the country. From managing waste across tens of thousands of guests to building the systems, partnerships, and processes needed to keep materials in circulation, the conversation shows how zero-waste goals translate into day-to-day operations. They also explore the lessons packaging and sustainability teams can take from a closed-loop system operating at massive scale.

Click Here to Read the Sustainably Packaged Magazine

Click Here to Discover the 2026 Sustainable Packaging Innovation Trends Report

Click Here to Download the EPR Masterclass Guide

Click Here to Explore More Sustainable Design Lab Resources

Whether you’re preparing for EPR, exploring material innovation, or looking for LCA-backed decision-making, our team can help you build a future-forward packaging strategy.

Want to collaborate on an R&D project?

Need help evaluating your packaging portfolio?

Want a tour of the Sustainable Design Lab?

We’d love to work with you. Let’s innovate together.
Click Here to Get Started

Enjoying the content?
If you crave to have the latest insights, trends, and expert advice like this sent directly to your inbox or phone every month, then subscribe to Sustainable Packaging Newsletter now!

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Want to learn more about

Sustainable Packaging?

We have created some resources to guide you in your transition to sustainable packaging:

Sustainably Packaged Magazine

Veritiv’s magazine dedicated to sustainable packaging insights, trends & ideas. New “Innovation Issue” now available.

Read Now >>

Sustainable Design Lab Podcast

Chris and Brodie chat with industry leaders about sustainable packaging options, new products, and how we can improve packaging sustainability.

Listen Now >>

EPR for Packaging Masterclass Series

A companion piece to Veritiv’s SDL Packaging Masterclass Podcast series that explores the big ideas reshaping packaging. This guide walks you through the key elements of EPR programs and what they mean for your packaging strategy.

Learn More >>

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