Sustainability is emerging as a key trend in luxury packaging as luxury marketers look to promote their environmentally responsible credentials through their choice of packaging materials, a recent report from the UK-based market research company Pira International has revealed.

Paperboard, which is seen as an environmentally friendly material, is finding growing applications in luxury packaging, according to Pira International. It was estimated to account for 62.9 per cent of the ＆#118alue of the luxury packaging market in 2010 and 45 per cent of the volume. Glass is the second most widely used material, followed by plastic.

These three materials are forecast to register the highest growth rates for
luxury packaging materials in ＆#118alue terms during the period 2010¡¡¡¡¡¡¨¬¬¬C15, with demand for glass and paperboard primarily been driven by increased interest in sustainable luxury packaging, the report noted.

FSC certification
The report highlighted that board and carton producers are increasingly securing the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, which supports responsible forest management.

In 2010, the packaging company Curtis Print and Packaging supplied FSC-certified secondary packaging to UK-based Nude Skincare, a natural cosmetics brand in which luxury goods company LVMH has recently acquired a 70 percent stake.

According to the report data, cosmetics and fragrances had a 20.8 percent ＆#118alue share of the $11.9 billion global luxury packaging market in 2010, making it the biggest sector behind healthcare.

Luxury packaging for cosmetics and fragrances is predicted to have one of the fastest growth rates to 2015, with Pira International highlighting fragrant packaging in cosmetics and fragrances as a developing technology.

Growth in China makes Asia-Pacific a leader
All luxury packaging sectors combined, the Asia-Pacific region now has a 35 percent ＆#118alue share of the global market compared to a 30 percent share in 2006, which has primarily been driven by strong growth in Chinese luxury goods sales, according to the report.

In contrast, slower economic growth and lower growth in luxury goods sales has seen the ＆#118alue market shares held North America and western Europe decline between 2006-2010. These markets have a predicted CAGR of 3.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively to 2015, compared to CAGR of 7.1 per cent for the Asia pacific region.

The Middle East and Africa are also forecast to grow their market share of luxury packaging sales over the period 2010¡¡¡¡¡¡¨¬¬¬C15, as are South America (led by growing prosperity in Brazil) and eastern Europe (led by Russia).