The global market for packaging classified as "green" is expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2021, according to a recent report from Transparency Market Research.
The Albany, New York-based research firm expects increasing consumer health and environmental concerns to boost the market for recycled-content, reusable and degradable packaging from $132 billion in 2014 up to $203 million.
TMR analysts expect awareness of chemicals used in conventional packaging to increase consumer demand for green materials, as will a desire among consumers to avoid additional landfill waste and pollution.
Packaging companies, meanwhile, should increasingly lean toward green packaging — which can be recycled more easily — to alleviate demand on natural resources used to make plastics.
The market is expected to grow more rapidly over that span in India, China, Germany, Russia and Brazil. Demand in developing nations should increase due to rising disposable income, increased awareness of green products and large food and beverage industries.
The growth rate should be smaller, meanwhile, in Canada and Japan, which currently have the green packaging industry's largest market penetration.
