Amazon, Walmart and other major retailers are working with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition to send a more coordinated message to suppliers on sustainable packaging, after finding that many of their private-label challenges overlap more than expected.
The effort, centred on SPC’s Retailer Forum, was set up on the idea that big retail brands can only make progress on packaging if suppliers are able to produce formats that fit the same goals. At SPC Impact in Nashville, Tenn...
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essee, leaders from SPC, Amazon and Walmart said the forum is helping turn scattered requests into a clearer set of priorities for packaging makers.
The forum was launched last year with Amazon, Walmart, Target and CVS Health taking part. According to SPC, the first round showed that the retailers broadly agreed on the biggest packaging issues affecting their store brands. Consultant Brandi Parker said the companies worked together to anonymously define and rank those needs, partly because suppliers were not always hearing the same demands from different customers.
That exercise first focused on flexible films with low-barrier requirements, with an emphasis on widely recyclable alternatives. SPC said nine suppliers submitted ideas, four were selected as finalists and individual retailers then met with those suppliers. The coalition plans to repeat the same kind of design sprint as it continues.
GreenBlue executive director Paul Nowak said other retailers have shown interest, but the group wanted to begin with a manageable pilot before broadening participation.
The conversations also revealed how differently retailers have to think about packaging across their businesses. Amazon’s Matt Swenson, senior sustainability specialist in waste and circular solutions, said private-label teams may be dealing with everything from blister packs for over-the-counter medicines in the morning to bulky bed-frame packaging later the same day.
Walmart’s Cheryl Lam said the process showed that the companies are tackling many of the same issues. She said there is already plenty of packaging innovation in the market, but not every solution works for retail at scale.
Swenson added that the forum exposed the fact that there is no single definition of sustainable packaging. Retailers, he said, have to balance multiple trade-offs, which is why the group worked to define what counts as useful innovation for suppliers. He said the collaboration helps “amplify the signal” to the supply chain, reducing duplication and confusion.
The next phase of the forum will look for lighter-weight containers, bottles and closures that can help retailers cut material use. That scope includes bottles for beverages, personal care, home care and pharmaceuticals, as well as caps, pumps and spray closures. SPC has already opened the brief to suppliers and will accept submissions until July 10.
Kachook said she had expected the retailers to start elsewhere, since bottles and containers are often already widely recyclable. But she said the format offers a natural opportunity to find source-reduction gains. The brief says concepts must show recyclability evidence, from collection access to end-market demand, and should work on existing machinery. SPC said it will also consider paper and other materials if they are scalable and priced competitively.
The brief also references California’s packaging rules, including SB 343 on recyclability claims and SB 54, which is pushing towards an at least 30% plastic recycling rate by 2028. Submissions will be judged on virgin-material reduction, lightweighting, regulatory fit, operational practicality, scalability and evidence of recyclability.
Kachook said the fast-moving process helps clarify what the industry is actually being asked to deliver. She said the briefs can give suppliers a clearer sense of what retailers mean by good performance, and hopes the framework will continue to shape future pitches even as the forum moves into new categories.
Source: Noah Wire Services
