One-Third of All Packaging Materials to be Eco-Friendly by 2014, Forecasts Pike

Packaging Digest: "According to a new study from Pike Research , sustainable packaging is a fast-growing segment of the global packaging industry, and will grow to 32% of the total market by 2014, up from just 21% in 2009.

'The $429 billion global packaging industry is huge but extremely fragmented, with no clear market leaders,' says managing director Clint Wheelock. 'As such, the move toward sustainable packaging represents a broad-based effort by manufacturers, retailers, industry groups, and governments to promote the design of minimal packaging that can be easily reclaimed. A tremendous amount of innovation is going into reducing energy requirements to manufacture packaging and using more recyclable and compostable materials, but there is still a long way to go.'"