Credit: Samsung
Samsung claims to have eliminated single-use plastics from its mobile packaging in favour of paper-based and recycled alternatives, meeting its sustainability commitment for 2025.
When it launched its ‘Galaxy for the Planet’ commitments in 2021, Samsung set a target to use recycled material across all its new mobile products by 2025 – a goal it claims to have reached.
Based on data collected in Korea, the company reportedly distributed 16,399 tonnes of recycled packaging in 2024. Samsung highlights its use of paper and recycled materials in product packaging, alongside its product cases made from recycled aluminium.
Upon their release in 2025, the Galaxy S25 Series smartphones were packaged in a box made entirely from recycled paper.
Samsung underlines its efforts to reduce single-use plastics, and to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by downsizing and lightweighting its packaging during transportation. However, it acknowledges that some plastic wrapping or sealing labels may remain in circulation due to local conditions, and that legacy packaging materials manufactured before the transition could still be on the market.
Beyond just mobile products, the company’s DX (Device eXperience) division – which is also dedicated to computers, TVs, monitors, refrigerators, and more – seeks to replace plastic and vinyl with recycled materials, and to downsize and lightweight its product packaging.
Samsung’s Solid State Drive (SSD) products transitioned from plastic to paper trays in 2020. Paper trays were then introduced for portable and Heatsink SSDs in 2023, and for 2.5” products in 2024; the company intended to make the same transition for M.2 SSD products by 2025.
Also in 2024, Samsung received ISO-14021 based recycled material certification from Intertek, officially recognizing the recycled content in the plastic trays for its component products. It also began to apply recycled aluminium to its Portable SSD T7 Shield product case, which received recycled material certification from TÜV.
Samsung’s TV and display products are apparently packed in expanded polystyrene (EPS) cushions that contain 10% recycled content. It claims to have removed metal staples from the sides of the outer boxes to streamline recycling.
Additionally, the packaging for its TV, audio, and display products, alongside home appliances like air purifiers, is designed for further use by the consumer – for example, for pet supplies.
Samsung’s automated Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) system for semiconductor products also covers the packaging process. Its final figure is calculated using emission factors of target items derived from life cycle assessment databases.
“The progress we have made through Galaxy for the Planet reflects years of consistent effort across our teams and partners,” said TM Roh, CEO, president and head of the DX Division at Samsung Electronics. “Sustainability is central to how we operate and innovate. It informs how we design products, manage resources and create value beyond our devices.
”As we work toward our 2030 goals, we are expanding our commitments beyond products and operations to address broader environmental impact as we work toward our 2030 goals.”
In other news, Google previously released a Plastic Free Packaging Design Guide. The document sought to help the consumer electronics sector phase out mixed-material packaging and transition into plastic-free alternatives.
Packaging innovation lead Miguel Arevalo later spoke to Packaging Europe about Google’s “collaboration over competition” approach to sustainable packaging, from open-source solutions to blind research trials.
More recently, Pegasus Materials has announced the debut of its first two biobased materials and the expansion of its seed round, led by studio Ferment and existing investor LIOF alongside prior investment from Fibrant BV. The company hopes to accelerate the commercial scale-up of its products for the electronics, data centre and aerospace industries.
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