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Materials & Packaging

The latest developments in materials, feedstocks and processes that are transforming the way many conventional products are made and packaged — and eliminating their negative impacts

Article
7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Sweden’s Forest Economy

Sweden is so heavily forested that open areas are the exception.It’s the opposite of continental Europe, where Germany’s well-known Black Forest or France’s Bois Des Landes are deviations in the landscape, which was deforested centuries ago.In ... View More

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Berkeley Researchers Developing Artificial Leaves to Produce Carbon-Neutral Fuel

Researchers at UC Berkeley have created a synthetic leaf that uses water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to make liquid fuels such as methane, butane and acetate — and releases oxygen into the air, The Los Angeles Times reports.Lead researcher on the ... View More

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Target Expands Sustainable Product Index to Include 1,000+ Toxic Chemicals

Target has improved its sustainable product standard by beginning to test category-specific criteria and consider more toxic chemicals. The retailer’s Sustainable Product Index evaluates products based on a points system and the highest-scoring opt... View More

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Sealed Air Releases 2020 Goals for Its Own Sustainability, Reimagining Customer Solutions for Same

Today, Sealed Air, the packaging solutions company that brought you Bubble Wrap®, released its latest sustainability report. The report outlines new goals for 2020, including reducing operations intensity by 25 percent. ... View More

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Keurig’s K-Cups Inch Closer to Being 100% Recyclable

Keurig Green Mountain Inc. is making progress towards its goal of making all K-Cups recyclable by 2020. Following successful recycling research trials, the company has unveiled plans to transition the entire product line to polypropylene, according t... View More

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Consumers Want Environmental Info on Product Labels: Why Now Is the Time to Act

Package labels that clearly detail food product ingredients have become the norm, thanks in large part to demand from consumers who want to be able to make informed decisions about their purchases. But what about other information related to sustaina... View More

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Vegan, Non-Allergenic and GMO-Free, Algae Could Be Our New Sustainable Superfood

As the alternative protein market continues to grow and companies explore the viability of more sustainable sources such as heat-resistant beans and even crickets, microalgae has emerged as another nutritionally rich contender. Solazyme, California-b... View More

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Mars, Researchers Reveal Benefits of Cocoa Flavanols, But Not Good News for Chocolate Lovers

The University of Dusseldorf, the University of Reading and Mars, Incorporated have unveiled two new studies revealing that cocoa flavanols can help to keep our hearts healthy. Cocoa flavanols are nutrients found naturally in the cocoa bean.The resea... View More

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EPA, Unilever Partnering to Advance Non-Animal Methods of Chemical Risk Assessment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Unilever have announced a research collaboration to develop groundbreaking scientific approaches to better assess the safety of chemicals found in some consumer products without using animal data.The... View More

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Could Sugar-Embedded Products Help Us Survive in a World Ravaged by Drought?

Climate impacts already cost billions in economic damage each year. Global drought losses are expected to surpass $8 billion in 2015 alone. A 2010 study by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) predicted that extreme drought will threat... View More

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Sustainability Mythbusters: Are Bio-Based Products Always Preferable to Oil-Based?

The common viewIn times where concerns over depletion of non-renewable resources and climate change are drastically increasing, it seems easy to accept that bio-based products are without a doubt better than fuel-based products. ... View More

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Can't Give Up the Bottle? Try Boxed Water

Plastic bottles are some of the worst offenders in packaging waste, but sales of bottled water continue to grow: U.S. bottled water volume apparently rose 7 percent last year. ... View More

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Trending: 'Freaky Friday' Technologies Grow Metal, Create Batteries from Trees

We know from the emerging discipline of biomimicry that natural systems can stimulate sustainable designs for human use. Two recent innovations use trees for inspiration and materials in unconventional products that may revolutionize very different i... View More

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Texas Teen Develops $20 Water Purifier to Fight E-Waste Pollution

Eighteen-year-old Perry Alagappan of Texas has created a renewable heavy metal filter capable of removing 99 percent of heavy metals from water that passes through it, The Guardian reports.This could be particularly useful in countries such as China ... View More

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How Marketing and Social Action Can Bring Back Recycling

A cloud seems to be looming over the recycling industry today. No matter where you turn, the reigning attitude seems about the same — the future of recycling is in trouble. ... View More

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Trending: Sustainability Demand Spurs New Packaging Innovations

A recent report from Transparency Market Research revealed that sustainability awareness is driving the demand for paper packaging. Paper is the largest material type in the packaging market and is growing, since it is both economically and environme... View More

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Seventh Generation Detergents Join Target’s ‘Made to Matter’ Collection

Seventh Generation, which makes eco-friendly household and personal care products, on Monday launched a new line of laundry and dishwasher detergents designed to save consumers energy and money, while also helping to protect and care for the environm... View More

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Trending: Biobased Microbeads, Flexible Foams Could Offer Renewable Materials for Hundreds of Products

TerraVerdae BioWorks, an industrial biotechnology company developing advanced bioplastics and environmentally sustainable biomaterials, announced Monday that it has successfully achieved key milestones for the commercial production for its line of Po... View More

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Researchers Unveil New Method for Converting Greenhouse Gas to Building Material

This week, researchers at George Washington University (GWU) unveiled a new method to convert carbon dioxide into nanoscale carbon fibers that may serve as valuable future building materials (think: aircrafts, fitness equipment and sports cars), as w... View More

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Could Genetically Modified Algae Replace Petroleum in Plastic?

Conventional plastic — found just about everywhere you can think of and in many places you wouldn’t — is made from ethylene, a cheap hydrocarbon made using petroleum and natural gas – through a process that emits more carbon dioxide than any ... View More

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October 13-16, 2025
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Circularity by Design: How to Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors
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OK - Now What?: Navigating the Shifting Landscape for Corporate Sustainability After the 2024 US Presidential Election
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