For a number of years it has been widely recognised by governments and industry that current human
activities degrade the environment and cause serious negative consequences for human population’s
[Brundtland, 1987] and as such we need to identify more sustainable patterns of development. A
reduction of the environmental impact of human activities by “factor 10” is now recognised as a key
target [Simon, 1997]. Considerable research has been carried out to understand how socially and
environmentally responsible behaviours can be integrated into the product development process.
During the early 1990’s ‘green design’ was the main focus for improvements of this nature, i.e. design
which focuses on single issues, such as the use of recycled materials. As understanding progressed
green design was superseded by ‘ecodesign’, recognised as being a more holistic approach which
tackles environmental issues at all stages of a product’s life cycle and encourages designers to think
about new ways of doing things. Sustainable Design goes beyond the consideration of environmental
issues and also recognises the importance of social and ethical issues in design. Literature in this field
indicates that considerable and progressive body of research concerning the integration of sustainable
design principles into product development exists [Fussler and James, 1996; Stevels, 1996], however
there is very little evidence to indicate similar work existing in the field of packaging