Thinking Beyond Single-Use Plastic Packaging

There’s a specter haunting consumption: packaging. It’s there when you rip open a box or untwist a bottle cap, and its story doesn’t end in the trash or the recycling bin. For most of the packaging we engage with, the afterlife entails something pretty grim—a path in the Pacific, a heap in a landfill, microscopic debris flowing through our bloodstreams. Plastic persists not because it’s good but because it’s easy. It’s cheap to make, cheap to buy, and astonishingly versatile. For decades, brands have leaned into this miraculous material to preserve products, profit, and public image. But now, cracks are appearing in the facade, and it’s not just activists and scientists chipping away at the plastic’s hold over us. Brands themselves are wielding alternatives to the global packaging problem.

So, how do you dismantle an empire as deeply entrenched as plastic packaging? Well, we could start with a radical rethinking of what packaging can be and what it means for people and planet.

We are Living in a Material World

If the plastic problem has taught us anything, it’s that we’ve been looking at materials in the wrong way. For decades, we’ve prized durability, cost-efficiency, and convenience above all else. Plastic perfectly exemplifies these qualities – it’s tough, cheap, and infinitely moldable. But these benefits are exactly what make it so harmful: plastic lasts far longer than we need it to, outliving the very products it’s meant to encase by centuries. The solution is, first and foremost, to remove plastic from our lives. Beyond that, there’s infinite room to reinvent what materials are capable of and how we make use of them.

Nature, in its own right, has been “designing” materials for billions of years – the ultimate zero-waste innovator, if you will. Biomaterials, inspired by and derived from natural sources, offer some of the most exciting alternatives (even if challenging to scale at current stages). We’ve seen everything recently, from biodegradable films made from seaweed to mushroom-based foams that mimic styrofoam. There’s also compostable plastics, though they require specific conditions to break down, and without access to industrial composting facilities, they may still end up in landfills.

By far, one of the most effective and transformative ideas in packaging is the concept of circularity. Circular materials are designed to be reused, remanufactures, or recycled indefinitely. Here we’re talking about glass, aluminum, and stainless steel. Aluminum, in particular, is gaining traction as a packaging solution on account of its ease of recyclability. Unlike plastic, which degrades in quality with each recycling cycle, aluminum can be recycled infinitely without losing strength or integrity. Plaine Products is one of our favorite companies working with aluminum today. Their refillable aluminum haircare bottles are also sent back, sanitized, and refilled in a closed-loop system.

Glass is another powerhouse of circular design, particularly for luxury and food industries. Its timeless recyclability, coupled with its impermeable and non-toxic properties, makes it a favorite for products that require a pristine barrier between themselves and the environment. Though heavy to ship, its durability and reusability can often outweigh its transportation footprint. Hudson Made and Aromatica are two brands we’ve evaluated that make excellent use of glass in packaging.

We also have biodegradable plastic alternatives. Cardboard and paper are the heroes here. They break down naturally and return nutrients to the soil without leaving harmful residues. However, it's important to note that not all cardboards are made equal. Cardboard with plastic coatings, heavy dyes, or glossy finishes contains non-compostable elements. When it’s done right, however, cardboard is an incredible, cost-effective, easily scalable alternative to plastic packaging. Axiology is a heavy lifter in this category, which we see in their Lip-to-Lid Balmies, which are entirely plastic-free. These 3-in-1 crayons are wrapped in recycled paper and housed in boxes made from 100% recycled paper waste. 

Less is More

Even if biomaterials and recyclable or compostable materials can provide viable alternatives to the plastic packaging crisis, we still need to emphasize another major factor in the equation: minimalism. Minimalism in packaging design prioritizes the reduction of materials by focusing on essentials and eliminating wasteful layers. This can mean smaller, lighter, or entirely new formats like naked products. We’re especially fans of Naked Hair Co.’s approach, which has all but eliminated packaging altogether for its shampoos and conditioners.

Supporting Brands that Do Better

At its core, packaging functions as a boundary, something that separates the “product” from the world. However, as the boundary between the environment and consumerism collapses under the weight of waste, packaging is likewise being redefined. Today’s most forward-thinking brands understand that packaging isn’t just what protects a product; it’s what reflects a company's fundamental values. For these few, sustainability is more than an add-on or marketing ploy. They’re going above and beyond to prove to the public and their competitors what’s possible when innovation meets integrity. 

Still, as much as brands are innovating, the power to shift the paradigm ultimately lies with consumers. Do we support brands with disposable habits, or do we champion those pushing boundaries with refillable, compostable, and waste-free designs?

The choice may seem small—an aluminum bottle instead of plastic, a paper wrap instead of cling film—but multiplied across millions of consumers, the impact is profound. The market follows where the demand leads.

Understanding where companies stand on packaging and plastic use can be difficult, but we're trying to make it easier. Head over to the Directory to see full brand sustainability evaluations and breakdowns.