China Packaging Network

With the progress of human civilization and the development of social economy, "green" and "environmental protection" have gradually become a common global call. Green mountains and waters, fresh air, and natural non-toxic food were once considered human beings, but with the establishment and long-term development of industrialized society, various industrial and agricultural pollution that opposed "green" and "environmental protection" has flooded every corner. People in a commercialized society are constantly exposed to various product packaging, and product packaging inevitably faces a "green wave".

The concept of green packaging

"Green packaging" is a new concept derived with the progress of society, which is a reflection of human civilization. Green packaging refers to packaging that is harmless to the ecological environment and human health, can be reused and regenerated, and conforms to sustainable development strategies, also known as ecological packaging. From a technical perspective, green packaging refers to an environmentally friendly packaging developed using natural plants and related minerals as raw materials, which is harmless to the ecological environment and human health, conducive to recycling and reuse, easy to degrade, and sustainable development. That is to say, the entire lifecycle of its packaging products, from the selection of raw materials, product manufacturing, to use and disposal, should comply with the requirements of ecological environment protection.

The implementation methods of green packaging should start from the aspects of green packaging materials and packaging design in order to achieve the goal of green packaging.

1、 Green packaging materials

Degradable materials are a green packaging material worth further research and development. After use, these materials gradually decompose and reduce in the natural environment under the action of photosynthesis or microorganisms in soil and water, and ultimately re-enter the ecological environment in a non-toxic form, returning to nature. A French dairy company produces an ecological packaging box by mixing substances extracted from sugar beets with minerals.

There are several types of green packaging materials as follows:

1. Edible packaging materials: Edible packaging materials based on plant or animal polysaccharides mainly include starch film, modified cellulose film, animal and plant adhesive film, chitosan film, etc.

2. Degradable plastic: refers to a type of plastic whose chemical structure undergoes changes in a specific environment that causes performance loss within a specific period of time. Degradable plastic packaging materials have both the functions and characteristics of traditional plastics, and can be degraded and reduced in the natural environment through the action of ultraviolet rays in sunlight or microorganisms in soil and water after completing their service life, ultimately entering the ecological environment in a non-toxic form.

3. Reusable and recycled packaging materials, such as beer, beverages, etc., are packaged in glass bottles and can be reused. After recycling, polyester bottles can be regenerated using two methods.

4. Paper material: The main raw material of paper is natural plant fibers, which will quickly rot in nature and will not cause environmental pollution. It can also be recycled and repurposed. Nowadays, many international large companies use recyclable paper for the production of annual reports and promotional materials. They use recycled paper to make letterhead and letterhead to reflect their green mission of caring for the environment, and also establish a good corporate image. Paper materials can also be used for various purposes such as pulp injection molded parts, composite materials, and building materials. Pulp molded products not only have advantages such as light weight, low cost, and shock resistance, but also have good breathability.

The research and development of green packaging materials have greatly reduced the use of non degradable packaging materials, alleviated the pressure on the ecological environment to a certain extent, reduced the increasingly depleted consumption of petroleum resources, reduced environmental pollution, and also solved the restrictions on China's export commodities caused by the international ban on the use of non degradable packaging materials. The widespread use of green packaging materials is of great significance, whether from the perspective of earth protection, the overall perspective of sustainable and healthy development of the national economy, or from the perspective of high-tech packaging material technology. Although there are still some problems with green packaging materials at present, such as poor thermal plasticity, high cost, complex production process, unstable products, narrow application range, and potential hazards of packaging materials in contact with food, we have reason to believe that with the cross penetration of environmental science, biochemistry, polymer chemistry and other disciplines, these problems will gradually be solved.

2、 The accurate and reasonable selection of materials in the packaging design process, combined with perfect creativity, can also play a crucial role in the development of green packaging.

In addition, saving materials is also one of the contents of green packaging during design. If a packaging overly emphasizes structure and uses layered packaging paper and boxes, it is intended to emphasize the level of product packaging. Although the decoration techniques are exquisite and the design taste is high, it is not worth promoting due to waste of materials. Moreover, in terms of design language, more emphasis should be placed on promoting environmental protection information, creating a green packaging atmosphere between patterns, product names, colors, and text.

In summary, packaging design should start from various aspects such as material selection, structural functions, production process, packaging methods, storage and transportation methods, product use, and waste disposal, with comprehensive reference to resource utilization, environmental impact, and solutions. The principle of conservation is always integrated into the design, aiming to minimize energy consumption, facilitate disassembly, and enable materials and components to be recycled.

"Green" packaging printing is a component of the packaging industry and also faces an environmental protection issue. "Green printing" is a new concept that has frequently emerged in the printing industry in recent years, following the world environmental trend.

Traditional gravure printing ink in packaging printing, due to its harmful volatile solvents, not only directly endangers the health of gravure workshop workers, but also causes certain pollution to the products packaged in the printed packaging. This is a serious problem that the packaging and printing industry urgently needs to solve. Replacing gravure printing with flexographic printing should be a development trend. In addition, actively developing water-based ink to replace solvent based ink is also a main way.

In the past decade or so, the reason why flexographic printing has emerged in the field of packaging printing both domestically and internationally is not only due to its technological advantages, but also because it has adapted to the requirements of environmental protection and green packaging. It can widely use non-toxic, solvent free, environmentally friendly ink and UV ink.

Nowadays, flexographic printing technology has achieved significant technological breakthroughs. Wide, medium, and narrow width flexographic printing machines have all taken a step towards high speed and versatility, especially with the continuous innovation and development of printing plates, substrates, and ink and alcohol manufacturing technologies, which have given flexographic printing technology broad development space in trademark, paper, folding paper boxes, and corrugated box printing. The application of direct digital laser engraving technology in flexographic plate making has given birth to seamless plates, taking flexographic technology a big step forward. Seamless printing is a multifunctional flexographic production line suitable for printing various composite materials, and can also perform rotary screen and UV flexographic polishing and rotary hot stamping. This has also led to the development of flexographic substrates from kraft paper, whiteboard paper, coated paper, and newsprint to glass paper, candy paper, gold cards, silver cards, aluminum foil, and more.