Stand-Up Pouches: Flexible Packaging for Sustainable Brands

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Opinion piece by Elliot Hyams, SPS Pouches

The packaging industry is experiencing a significant shift, with sustainability now a top priority for both businesses and consumers. Among the many innovations transforming the market, stand-up pouches are emerging as a front-runner for a wide range of industries. Lightweight, practical, and environmentally friendly, this flexible packaging format is helping to shape a greener future.

Stand up pouches, sometimes referred to as doypacks, are flexible packaging solutions designed to stand upright. Made from materials such as plastic laminates, paper, and aluminium, they are widely used for food, beverages, pet products, and cosmetics. Their appeal lies in their practicality: they often come with resealable zippers, spouts, or tear notches and offer excellent barrier properties to keep products fresh for longer.

Thanks to their adaptable design features, stand-up pouches are often seen as a more versatile option compared to traditional formats such as glass jars, steel cans, or rigid plastic bottles. But how do they stack up in terms of environmental impact?

Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) offer some compelling insights. A 2021 study by the ifeu Institute compared pouches to glass jars and steel cans for food products. The results showed that pouches generally have a lower environmental footprint, with a 63% reduction in climate impact compared to glass jars and a 69% reduction compared to steel cans. This is largely due to their efficient use of materials and lighter weight, which significantly reduces resource consumption and transport emissions.

They’re also a great option when it comes to marketing. Unlike rigid alternatives, which have limited space for branding, pouches offer large and smooth surfaces that can accommodate eye-catching designs and detailed graphics. Businesses can also add transparent windows to showcase the product inside and special print features such as gold foiling and spot glosses, making them a great choice for brands looking to distinguish themselves on store shelves or in e-commerce listings.

Whilst other packaging formats all have their have their individual strengths, they also come with significant disadvantages:

Glass is endlessly recyclable but is fragile and energy-intensive to produce and transport.
Aluminium requires resource-heavy and damaging mining and refining processes. Aluminium cans also generally contain a product contact layer of plastic, which defeats their purpose.
Cardboard, though renewable, struggles to provide the barrier protection that many products require.

Pouches address many of these challenges. Their flexible, lightweight construction reduces transportation emissions, and their efficient use of materials minimises waste. For instance, switching from glass jars to flexible pouches can cut transport-related emissions by as much as 75%. With less material and space required, fewer vehicles are needed on the road, reducing the overall carbon footprint.

Innovations in Sustainability

Traditional pouches were often made from mixed laminates—materials that are thin and lightweight but are difficult to recycle. However, ongoing innovation in the packaging sector has led to more sustainable alternatives. Today, businesses can choose from recyclable mono-material laminates or compostable films, aligning their packaging choices with their environmental goals.

These advancements also offer versatility. Compostable pouches are ideal for products like snacks, while recyclable options work well for liquids. Bio-based materials are also emerging as a renewable alternative to petroleum-based plastics, further enhancing the eco-credentials of the stand-up pouch industry.

The journey towards fully recyclable flexible packaging is still evolving. Mono-material pouches made from polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) are a step in the right direction, as they are more attractive to recyclers. However, recycling infrastructure in the UK is still catching up, with less than 10% of flexible packaging currently recycled.

Efforts are being made to address this gap though with supermarkets and other large stores offering collection points for items like crisp packets and pet food pouches. Support from tools like WRAP’s Recycle Now map make it easier for consumers to locate recycling facilities and plans are already in place for flexible packaging to be collected at curbside by 2027. While there is still progress to be made, these initiatives are paving the way for a more sustainable future.

Building Momentum for the Future

The rise of stand up pouches is part of a broader movement towards achieving sustainability and a more circular economy. As innovations continue to improve materials and recycling systems, the potential for them to reshape the packaging industry becomes even greater.

At SPS Pouches we specialise in creating customised solutions that help businesses meet their eco-friendly objectives. Whether you need recyclable laminates or anything else, our pouches are designed to minimise environmental impact while maximising functionality. We also actively support the implementation of the Simpler Recycling scheme in the UK and expect all of our pouch packaging to be recyclable at kerbside by 2027. Together, we can create a more sustainable world, one pouch at a time.

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