Packaging and it is future in the United States - Essay Example

Packaging has existed since the beginning of mankind. Our ancestors used packaging to save food. Due to the lack of mobility of these societies there was not a need for packaging for moving purposes. As societies became more sophisticated packaging become more important. During the industrial revolution packaging became a key instrument that was used to protect goods while in transit. Merchants move goods across the United States in large containers that travel through carriage vehicles and later by train.

During the 20th century once the globalization movement began to create international business opportunities the use of packaging changed because markers used packaging to make products more attractive to the customers. In the United States packaging is used for different purposes. Four uses for packaging are: To contain products in specific amounts defining the amount the customer will purchase To protect products from contamination, theft, and environmental damage Facilitate transportation and storage of products To provide information and colorful designs To transmit marketing messages (Berger).

During the 21st century the customer tastes and preferences have changed a lot. People have become more conscious of the environment and the effects personal consumerism decisions have on the well being of the planet. Due to these changes in the customer desires many companies are using environmentally friendly packaging alternatives. An example of an environmentally friendly packaging product is packaging that utilizes recycled material. Companies can also apply environmentally friendly practices in its packaging through its processes.

Creating a packaging facility that is powered by solar energy is a way to implement green practices into the packaging business. Green practices can extend to other phases of the business such as having an office environment that is paper free. Marketers use packaging to transmit product information, quantity, ingredients, and legal information. For example cigarette packaging must have a message that states that smoking causes cancer. The future of the packaging industry is very bright and lucrative.

Companies in the future are going to continue to use packaging to protect merchandise and to facilitate the transport of goods from one place to another. A hot trend in the packaging business is to use packaging to announce special contests. Currently the food manufacturer Goya has a contest that requires the packaging labels of its tomato sauce product. A technology that will gain greater use in the transportation of packaged merchandise is radio frequency identification tags (RFID). RFID is a method of remotely retrieving data through the use of RFID tags (Wordiq).

As RFID tags become cheaper the packaging of products will include them to facilitate the supply chain functions of companies. The logistics in warehouses can go a lot smoother with the presence of RFID in the packaging of all products. Packaging will be used differently in the food industry to offer great value in the quantity of food offered. The use of environmentalism is possibly the hottest trend in the packaging industry. It is important to let the customers know through its packaging that the firm cares about the environment.

Work Cited Page Berger, K. 2000. “A Brief History of Packaging.” University of Florida. 18 April 2011. Wordiq.com. 2011. “RDIF – Definition” 18 April 2011.