What is the Most Eco-Friendly Food Packaging? | Explore Eco-Friendly Solutions

In the modern food industry, eco-friendly food packaging has become a key focus of attention for both consumers and brands worldwide. As people become more environmentally conscious, the environmental pollution caused by traditional packaging materials is becoming more and more prominent. So, what are the materials that make up the food packaging on the market? Are they environmentally friendly? After use and how to deal with it? Today, join Zhongjia Packaging to learn more about the best solutions for eco-friendly food packaging.

Food Packaging Bag Structure Disassembly

We start from a common pouch structure, which can usually be divided into the following four parts:

• Printing Layer
• Ink
• Glue
• Inner Material

Printing Layer: Choosing the Most Environmentally Friendly Materials

Common printing materials on the market include PET, NY, BOPP, and so on. Among them, BOPP is the ideal choice for eco-friendly flexible packaging:

• PET has high strength and good printing performance, but it does not have heat sealing performance, cannot be recycled separately, has a decomposition cycle of more than 200 years, and is extremely polluting to the environment.
• BOPP is a biodegradable, recyclable material; its essence is PP plastic, which can be recycled, hot extrusion granulation, and other ways to reuse, with good recycling value, is the custom eco-friendly flexible packaging factory recommended materials.

Ink: Water-based Ink is the Choice for Green Printing.

Three types of inks are commonly used in packaging printing: ink, UV ink, and water-based ink.

Traditional Ink:

It contains a lot of toxic solvents and releases VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), which not only pollute the air but may also remain in the packaging, posing a threat to food safety.

UV Ink

Although it does not use solvents, the UV curing process generates ozone, which poses a certain environmental risk.

Water-base Ink:

The most environmentally friendly choice only needs to add food-grade alcohol, non-toxic, non-polluting, and biodegradable, but higher requirements for the printing process, mastering the technology of eco-friendly flexible packaging manufacturing is relatively small.

Glue: Solvent-free Glue is More Environmentally Friendly

Glue is mainly divided into:

Solvent-based Adhesive: Containing solvents and releasing harmful gases during production.
Solvent-free adhesive (Solvent-free Adhesive): does not contain volatile organic compounds, is non-flammable, environmentally safe, making become the first choice for green packaging.

Inner Layer Material: Selection of Recyclable PP Structure

In the inner layer material, the unified use of recyclable plastics such as CPP or BOPE with the printing layer is the key to environmental protection. They have good heat sealing performance and can realize a single material structure, which is conducive to later recycling.

Two Ideal Recommended Structures for Eco-friendly Food Packaging Bags

Combining the above elements, the following are the two most representative environmentally friendly structures in the market today:

✅ Structure I: BOPP + ink + solvent-free glue + CPP

• Printing layer: BOPP
• Ink: Encre à base d'eau
• Glue: Solvent-free adhesive
• Inner layer: CPP

Advantages: Strong overall environmental performance, recyclable, high food safety level, suitable for most food packaging products.

✅ Structure 2: BOPE + Ink + Solvent-free adhesive (or lamination) + BOPE

• Printing layer & inner layer: BOPE (single material structure)

Advantage: Extremely recyclable, suitable for some export products that require recyclable certification.
Disadvantages: Limited appearance due to poor printing suitability, low printing precision, only applicable to specific customer groups.

Zhongjia Packaging: Professional Eco-friendly Flexible Packaging Manufacturer

Zhongjia Packaging is an eco-friendly flexible packaging manufacturer specializing in Impression à l'encre à base d'eau. Since its inception in 1996, Zhongjia Packaging has always been committed to providing highly environmentally friendly and customizable flexible packaging solutions for the food, household chemical, and toy industries. Our advantages include:

🌿 Expert in environmentally friendly material solutions: mastering the BOPP/BOPE single material structure process and promoting recyclable packaging materials;

💧 Leading water-based ink printing technology: using environmentally friendly and non-toxic water-based inks to safeguard food safety and reduce VOC emissions;

🔧 Strong customization capability: structural matching, pattern printing, and functional development can be carried out according to customers’ needs to meet brand differentiation requirements;

🏭 Own factory, fast delivery: advanced flexible packaging printing equipment and automated production lines to ensure stable quality and fast delivery;

🌎 Experienced in export: our products are exported to many overseas countries and regions, serving more than one hundred international brands with complete export qualification.

We are not only a custom eco-friendly flexible packaging factory, but also a reliable partner in your green brand strategy. Contact us now for samples of water-based ink flexible food packaging, and choose Zhongjia Packaging to help the global environmental sustainability.

Conclusion

With the global emphasis on environmentally friendly packaging, choosing environmentally friendly materials, green technology, and recyclable structures has become an inevitable trend in the packaging industry.

Zhongjia Packaging, as a professional manufacturer of environmentally friendly flexible packaging, is willing to explore more sustainable packaging solutions with you. Please feel free to contact us for more eco-friendly packaging suggestions and customized services!