As 2025 draws to a close, how are you feeling about your packaging strategy – and can we turn it into tangible action? Sustainable Packaging Coalition director Olga Kachook takes stock of the emotional landscape across industry events and translates it into a roadmap.
Sometimes, feelings are just as important as facts. With the year coming to an end, reflecting on the emotions running undercurrent in the sustainable packaging industry can lead us more quickly towards future progress.
At this year’s Sustainable Packaging Summit, hesitation and hope vied for the spotlight on the main stage, breakout sessions, and exhibit floor. A week later, at U.S. environmental nonprofit GreenBlue’s London Forum event, attendees shared similar sentiments while reflecting on their companies’ most pressing challenges.
After dozens of sessions, conversations, and presentations, I’m reporting on the five emotions of the international sustainable packaging industry, and how companies can use them to harness a better 2026.
Uncertainty about the future of global packaging regulations
A notable emotional undercurrent at the Sustainable Packaging Summit was uncertainty over the future of the PPWR – whether its core legislative principles will be reopened and whether the first deadlines, like an August 2026 PFAS ban, will actually be enforced. As a result, companies seem to be taking a “wait and see” approach, in some cases delaying getting started on compliance efforts.
In the U.S., uncertainty over how the rulemaking process for California’s behemoth EPR bill, SB 54, will play out looms large. The seven states with packaging EPR are all in various stages of rulemaking, and producer fees have only been outlined for two of the states.
There’s also no shortage of unknowns about policies that might be introduced or passed next year – while it’s too soon to tell, states such as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have Needs Assessments or feasibility studies underway and may pass EPR bills in 2026.
One way to work with these feelings of uncertainty? Channeling them into action. Regardless of how many new states or countries pass new laws or start to enforce existing ones, 2026 will be a critical year for companies to execute their packaging reporting strategy, if they haven’t already, and determine how they plan to comply with PPWR and U.S. EPR requirements.
Frustration over the state of recycling infrastructure and end markets
As large-scale recycling facilities continue to face closures and challenging economics, brands and retailers are left feeling frustrated by the end-of-life infrastructure they so desperately need to achieve their circularity goals. Flexible film packaging, in particular, remains stranded in the system.
Chemical recycling technologies and sortation through mechanical recycling – and their recycled material outputs – continue to be more expensive than virgin resin. Collection programs for these materials, which are making notable collection progress, still face subsequent headwinds from limited end markets for the materials they collect.
Could taking matters into your own hands prove to be one solution? More brands and smaller “specialty” recyclers are starting to offer mail-back programs and local pickup as a way for consumers to recycle small or lightweight packaging like beauty, flexible plastic, coffee pods, and more. 2026 can continue to be a year of growth in this space, with companies leading the way in offering consumers more options for recycling.
Hesitation towards alternative materials and reuse platforms
Materials like seaweed and alternative fibers, as well as shared reuse for to-go serviceware and refillable solutions, continue to capture both imaginations and awards. For reuse and refill in particular, 2030 sector-specific requirements in the PPWR are now clearly visible on the horizon.
Yet many companies just aren’t ready to commit. Hesitation over what’s needed for these solutions to work – in terms of procurement, cost-competitiveness, and infrastructure – was clearly on the minds of both Summit and Forum attendees.
Not sure what a new materials or reuse strategy should look like for your company? Join forces with your peers. The surest way to bring down cost, set up reliable reverse logistics, and engage consumers in new programs is to work with other companies facing the same regulations and challenges.
Optimism for the new performance capabilities of paper
It’s been several years since “paperization” became a clear trend in the packaging industry, and the sentiment that paper packaging’s performance and barrier properties are limited may be on its way out.
At the Summit, manufacturers, converters, and early adopters of enhanced paper packaging expressed cautious optimism that fiber-based packaging can increasingly meet the exacting specifications of brands. For those creating new paper packaging solutions, there was a notable sense of pride over paper’s new performance accomplishments, including flexibility and heat-sealing functionality.
So, if it’s been a while since you’ve evaluated the technical capabilities of fiber-based packaging, it might be worth investigating the industry’s optimism to see what’s possible.
Confidence over secondary and B2B sustainable packaging solutions
If there’s one area giving the sustainable packaging industry a much-needed boost of confidence, it’s secondary packaging for e-commerce and B2B applications. This year’s Sustainable Packaging Awards winners offer several new solutions in this space. More broadly, these applications are primed for recyclable mono-materials, recycled content, and straightforward back-of-house collection.
Take an emotional cue from the industry and look at your full packaging portfolio – while primary packaging may still face unresolved challenges with collection, secondary packaging is often full of low-hanging circularity fruit, regardless of material type.
Turning These Emotions Into Momentum
Even “bad” emotions, like uncertainty and frustration, serve a purpose. Whether you’re feeling optimistic or hesitant about your packaging strategy heading into 2026, these feelings can point you toward where you need to dig deeper, invest more, or collaborate.
So, how are you feeling as we approach the new year? Whatever your answer, you’ve got the tools you need to use that feeling to guide your 2026 strategy.
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