Product protection

From a sustainability perspective, it is better to protect a product too much, rather than not enough. For most product-packaging combinations, less than 10% of their environmental impact can be attributed to the packaging. The product usually has a far greater environmental impact than its packaging. When developing sustainable product-packaging combinations, it is about finding the right balance between protecting the product and the packaging method.

It is important to properly fit the product and its packaging. In some cases, a minor modification of the product can make it easier to package. One example is IKEA. For many pieces of IKEA furniture, the question of how the disassembled products can be packaged efficiently is taken into account during the design stage. Using optimised product-packaging combinations, complex products can be delivered to consumers without any damage and with the use of minimal packaging and simple materials.

The image shows that the environmental impact usually increases more rapidly for under-designed packaging (left-hand side of the diagram) than for over-designed packaging (right-hand side of the diagram). It is therefore important to find the right balance between product protection and material usage. This goes for both food products, where spoilage must be prevented, and non-food products, where damage during transport and logistics must be avoided. The balance between product protection and the use of materials for food products is affected both by consumer behaviour in terms of use and disposal and how the supply chain is organised.