Sustainable Packaging Guide for UK Brands

This guide is general information, not legal or compliance advice.

Sustainable packaging, for a UK brand, means using as little material as the product needs, choosing materials the UK can collect and recycle, keeping non-paper components to a minimum, sourcing fibre you can verify, and describing all of it accurately. Those choices are now shaped by UK rules, including packaging EPR, Plastic Packaging Tax and the CMA's Green Claims Code. The regulatory points in this guide were checked against GOV.UK and the scheme owners' own guidance on 11 September 2026; the rules change often, so check the current GOV.UK guidance before you rely on any of them.

What sustainable packaging means in practice

There is no single legal definition of "sustainable packaging" in the UK, and no material that is sustainable in every situation. A heavy rigid box that a customer keeps for years is a different proposition from a mailer that is opened once and recycled. What you can do is make a series of sensible, evidenced decisions, in roughly this order:

1. Use less. Right-size the box and remove components that do not do a job.
2. Choose the board for the job. Match the grade and construction to the product and the journey.
3. Simplify finishes and components. Every non-paper part adds material and can make the box harder to recycle.
4. Verify the fibre. Know whether the board is recycled, virgin or certified, and be able to prove it.
5. Describe it accurately. Make only the claims you can substantiate.

The order matters. Swapping a laminate for an uncoated finish on a box twice the size it needs to be is a small gain; making the box fit is a large one.

The UK rules and schemes that shape packaging

Several separate regimes touch packaging decisions. Some are legal obligations for certain businesses; others are voluntary schemes.

The detail of each sits in its own guide: UK packaging EPR, Plastic Packaging Tax and FSC certification explained.

Step 1: use less packaging

The most reliable reduction is the material you never use. A made-to-measure box, sized from the product's internal dimensions, needs less board and less void fill than a stock box chosen because it was the nearest size up.

Three questions cut most excess:

• Does the box fit? Measure the product, not the old box, and allow only the clearance the product and any insert need.
• Does every layer earn its place? A retail box inside a mailer inside a shipping carton is often two layers too many. A printed corrugated mailer box can often present and ship the product on its own.
• Could print replace an extra? Instructions or a thank-you message printed inside the box removes a separate card.

If your business is an obligated producer under EPR, you report packaging by weight and material, so a lighter, simpler pack also means less to report. Our guide to reducing excess packaging covers right-sizing in detail.

Step 2: choose the board for the job

Most custom packaging is made from paper-based board. The right grade is the lightest one that protects and presents the product properly; over-specifying adds material without adding value.

Paper and card are core recyclable materials under Simpler Recycling in England: councils must collect them from households from 31 March 2026, and workplaces must separate them. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.

Recycled or virgin fibre?

Recycled fibre reuses material already in circulation; virgin fibre is new and typically gives brighter whites and a stronger sheet for a given weight. Both have a place, and many boards combine them. The choice affects appearance, strength and availability, so decide it with the product in mind. See recycled vs virgin fibre board.

Step 3: simplify finishes and components

A board box is only as easy to recycle as the things added to it. This is also where UK rules are becoming more precise.

PackUK's RAM 2027, which large producers use to rate household packaging from the 2027 reporting year, includes these criteria for paper and board: non-paper content above 10% by weight is rated amber and above 15% red; paper or board with more than 5% plastic by mass must be assessed as a fibre-based composite; glitter, and aluminium foil lamination of 6 microns or more, are rated red; and boxes with integrated electrical components, such as LED lights, are rated red automatically. Under EPR, red-rated packaging carries a higher waste disposal fee.

We do not give RAM ratings for specific constructions. The assessment depends on the actual weights and components, and it is for the producer to make against the current methodology. What we can do is list every material and component on your quotation so you have the facts.

For how individual materials are collected and processed, see recyclable packaging materials.

Step 4: verify the fibre

Two kinds of fibre claim are common on packaging:

• Recycled content. How much of the board is made from recovered fibre. Ask the supplier what the board's recycled content is and what evidence supports it.
• FSC certification. FSC labels show that fibre comes from FSC-certified forests, recycled material or FSC controlled wood, tracked through chain of custody. FSC UK says packaging can only carry an FSC label if it is produced and labelled under a valid chain of custody certificate.

If you need FSC-certified board, say so in your quote request and we will confirm availability. Ask for the certificate code that will cover your order and check it on FSC's public certificate search. Our guide to FSC certification explains the three labels and who can use the logo.

Step 5: be deliberate about plastic

Most custom boxes contain little plastic, but the small amounts matter.

Plastic Packaging Tax applies to finished plastic packaging components manufactured in or imported into the UK that contain less than 30% recycled plastic. HMRC's predominant weight test means a board box is not a plastic packaging component, because board is its heaviest material. Separate plastic parts, such as patch windows, trays and shrink film, are assessed on their own. HMRC also treats compostable and biodegradable polymers as plastic.

Compostable plastic is not a simple substitute for recyclable material either. Defra's household guidance says English councils do not need to collect plastic items labelled compostable or biodegradable in the plastic or food waste streams. See Plastic Packaging Tax for how the tax works.

Step 6: describe it accurately

The CMA's Green Claims Code, published in September 2021, sets out six principles. Claims must:

1. be truthful and accurate;
2. be clear and unambiguous;
3. not omit or hide important relevant information;
4. make only fair and meaningful comparisons;
5. consider the full life cycle of the product;
6. be substantiated.

Since April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the CMA can decide itself whether consumer law has been broken and can fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover. In January 2026 the CMA published further guidance on getting claims right across the supply chain, which makes clear that businesses cannot simply rely on a supplier's word.

In practice:

• Be specific. "Box and insert made from paper-based board; remove the film window before recycling" is a claim you can support. "Eco-friendly packaging" is not.
• Say which parts. If the window or ribbon is not recyclable, say so.
• Keep the evidence. Specifications, component weights, certificates and invoices.
• Use recycling labels properly. OPRL runs a UK labelling scheme for members, with instructions such as removing a sleeve. GOV.UK notes that RAM ratings are not related to recycling labels on the packaging.

We never make environmental claims about our products on your behalf. We give you accurate specifications so that the claims you choose to make are based on facts.

A sustainability checklist for your quote request

Send these with your quote request and we will reflect them in the specification. If you are building a formal brief, our packaging specification template shows how to set it out.

Common mistakes

• Starting with materials instead of size. An oversized box in a better board is still an oversized box.
• Judging by colour. Brown kraft is not automatically more sustainable than white board.
• Making broad claims. "Eco-friendly", "green" and "sustainable" are hard to substantiate; specific claims are safer.
• Adding the FSC logo without a certified supplier. The label is only valid when the order is produced under a chain of custody certificate.
• Replacing plastic with compostable plastic and assuming it will be recycled.
• Forgetting the small parts. Windows, tapes, ribbons and inserts all count in EPR data and in recyclability.
• Relying on old figures. EPR fees, RAM versions, tax rates and deadlines change. Always check the current GOV.UK guidance.