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AWEN: Your Pathway to Sustainable Packaging

05/06/2026

🌍 My

Just because a plastic bag says “REUSABLE” doesn’t mean it is.

A bag is only reusable if people actually reuse it.

I’ve seen many plastic bags carrying large “REUSABLE” logos that are used once and thrown away. The claim changes, but the outcome often doesn’t.

Let’s stop focusing on labels and start focusing on real environmental outcomes.

What packaging sustainability claim are you most tired of hearing?

Reuse Packaging Sustainability

03/06/2026

Most brands know sustainable packaging matters. Far fewer know how to make the numbers work.

I'm joining four experts across packaging, sustainability and EU regulation for a free webinar on exactly that. We'll be covering tested business models, how to resolve the tension between responsibility and profit, and how to communicate the value of sustainable adaptation in financial terms.
I'm joining Olga Kachook (Sustainable Packaging Coalition), Lara Botta (BOTTA EcoPackaging), Anna Perlina (PPWR Consulting) and Elisabeth Skoda (Packaging Europe) to talk through what actually works.

Tuesday 16 June, 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET. Free to attend, recording available after.

🔗Register via the link in my bio!

01/06/2026

Honeycomb packaging doesn't get enough credit. It absorbs shock, cushions fragile products, and performs on par with styrofoam, but without the environmental baggage.

It's made from paper, it's lightweight, and most importantly, it's recyclable through standard kerbside collection.

Styrofoam is none of those things.

Brands moving away from expanded polystyrene often assume they'll have to compromise on protection, but honeycomb is the material that proves otherwise.

Still using styrofoam? There really is no reason anymore!

26/05/2026

Moulded pulp has spent too long hidden behind functional, brown, basic packaging, but that is changing, and luxury brands are leading the shift.

From champagne to refillable skincare and perfume, the best packaging designers are now using moulded pulp as a deliberate design choice, not just protection.

The material quality and finish have caught up to what luxury consumers actually expect when they unbox.

If your brand is still reaching for plastic trays or foam inserts, the case for switching has never been stronger, on sustainability and aesthetic grounds.

Have you noticed the rise of moulded fibre packaging in your shopping time too?

21/05/2026

Imagine you have a tea brand and your tea box is made with blended tea leaves.
Or a coffee brand using paper made with recovered coffee grounds.
Or a fashion brand using recycled cotton fibres directly in the packaging itself.

How powerful would it be to tell your product story through the packaging material, before a single word is even printed?

There’s a growing trend of paper makers blending virgin fibre with agricultural and post-consumer waste streams like tea leaves, coffee grounds, grass fibres and recycled cotton.

And this is not just experimental material innovation anymore. These papers are commercially viable for leaflets, boxes, cartons and wrapping applications.

Some sheets contain the equivalent of 6 recycled milk cartons or paper cups, plus recovered waste fibres that would otherwise be discarded.

What excites me most is that the sustainability message becomes physically embedded into the packaging itself. The material texture, colour and visible fibres already communicate the brand story naturally.

This is closed-loop recycling with real commercial and environmental benefits.
That’s a rare combination.

Swipe to see some examples.

19/05/2026

Helping brands like District navigate the challenges with packaging compliance locally and globally is exactly what we're here for at AWEN Packaging Consulting.
Grateful for the kind words.
Does this sound familiar? Book a discovery call with us: link in bio

14/05/2026

One of the strongest takeaways from the Live conference was that sustainability is no longer being framed only as climate action, but as business resilience, energy security and future competitiveness.

🔋 The message was clear: transitioning to renewable energy is no longer optional, it is strategic.

“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”

🌏 A particularly powerful perspective came from Indigenous voices: we need clean water, fresh air and nutritious food for future generations just as much as past generations did.

🌿 I found it really interesting how nature-based conversations connect much more deeply with communities. People understand nature because it is part of their everyday lives. Talking only about “climate change” can sometimes feel too distant, but talking about water, food, land and air makes the impacts real.

🚛⚡IKEA shared a great case study showing how early investments in solar, wind and EV delivery fleets made the business more resilient today, especially with rising diesel costs. One detail that stood out to me: their CEO Mirja Viinanen is also the Chief Sustainability Officer, embedding sustainability directly into business strategy.

🔮 EY presented its AMAZING interactive “Four Futures” experience, exploring four possible pathways for 2055: Business as Usual, Transform, Collapse and Constrain. The scenarios showed how today’s decisions around climate, energy, regulation and resource use could radically shape future societies and economies. I highly recommend everyone experience it.

📈 The recurring message throughout the conference was simple: sustainability done early is good for business.

🚆 And finally, as Jesper Brodin, Senior Advisor from IKEA, said:
“This journey is like being on a train, it’s bumpy, but it’s better than being left at the station.”

12/05/2026

Next copy out this TOMORROW!

Want packaging updates that actually make sense? No jargon, no spam, just a monthly email with what’s changing, what’s working, and what you need to know to stay ahead.

Sign up to Unpacked by Renata via the link in Bio 🔗

11/05/2026

From plastic foam to fully paper-based packaging.

A guitar brand approached us after WA’s single-use plastic bans and the UK Plastic Packaging Tax turned their existing packaging into a regulatory and commercial risk.

The challenge was far from simple.

Their guitars come in 41 different shapes and sizes, making traditional moulded fibre packaging almost impossible to standardise. On top of that, the neck of the guitar requires dedicated structural support, otherwise damage during transport is almost guaranteed.

Their existing packaging relied on EPS, EPE foam and plastic bubble wrap. Effective for protection, but no longer viable for key markets.

To develop a tailored solution, AWEN Packaging Consulting worked together with Pacard Group, packaging supplier, to design a high-performance, fully recyclable packaging system using adjustable corrugated and kraft paper components that could adapt across multiple guitar shapes while still protecting the instrument properly.

The final packaging is:
• Fully paper-based
• Kerbside recyclable
• Compliant with WA regulations
• Suitable for the UK market without triggering Plastic Packaging Tax
• Only around AUD $0.40 more per unit on products worth hundreds to thousands of dollars

This is what I keep telling brands: sustainable packaging is no longer just an environmental conversation. In many cases, it is becoming a market access requirement.

If your packaging still relies on EPS or EPE foam, now is the time to review it before compliance becomes a barrier to selling your products.

🔗Read the full case study via link in bio!.

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