The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) will be publishing its annual “Report to the Members,” which provides an overview of the many initiatives and activities FPA conducts on behalf of its members. As the voice of the flexible packaging industry for 75 years, FPA provides a wealth of significant benefits that supports the success of FPA members and the advancement of the flexible packaging industry.
The report highlights current and ongoing FPA programs that ensure the environmental benefits and sustainability advantages of flexible packaging are communicated and understood. FPA’s mission and strategic plan are to advocate to protect against potential barriers to growth, combat regulatory burdens, and build relationships with diverse stakeholders; to promote the advantages and benefits of flexible packaging; to communicate to keep members and stakeholders informed and engaged; to provide industry data to the membership and investment community; and to create networking and education opportunities to connect the membership.
Below is an overview of some of FPA’s activities in 2024.
Advocacy
The year 2024 continued to be a whirlwind at the state level for flexible packaging, with FPA tracking over 490 bills that could have affected our members. While FPA was heavily engaged in several issues, including labeling standards, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance restrictions, and advanced recycling technology protections, FPA’s highest priority remained extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation.
Fifteen states introduced 49 EPR-related bills. FPA worked to protect our members’ interests and effectively killed or stalled every problematic EPR bill introduced. FPA made enough progress in Minnesota to become the first of many trade associations to switch from “oppose” to “full support” on the only EPR initiative to become law in 2024. With numerous state legislatures back in session in 2025, FPA staff members are already monitoring strong EPR efforts in several key states such as Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee.
The flexible packaging industry has the opportunity to stand out as a leader in food waste prevention with science-based flexible packaging solutions for food waste prevention.
At the federal level, FPA continues to advocate for a national strategy to improve, advance, and increase recycling in the U.S., including a harmonized approach to package labeling for recyclability. FPA is working with AMERIPEN—the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment to socialize and build support for the PACK Act, a draft bill that would give legal authority to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer claims and labeling for packaging compostability, recyclability, and reusability. Because U.S. House Republicans are wary of too much EPA authority and oversight, the bill is designed for third-party programs to be the program implementer, not EPA. While staff on both sides of the aisle feel that the issue is not yet ripe enough for federal policy, staff members must be kept engaged and informed about how this issue will affect interstate commerce.
In 2025, FPA will keep monitoring the federal and state legislative and regulatory fronts and continue to advocate on behalf of the industry.
Industry Statistical Reports
FPA maintains industry statistics and updates reports as data changes. Thus, dialogue is ongoing with the U.S. Census Bureau, including reviewing data releases in connection with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Integrated Economic Survey and evaluating detailed long-term consistency by FPA. Industry information is collected from the U.S. Departments of Labor and Commerce, the Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, industry analysts, investment banking reports, economic analyst group Inforum, and other authoritative sources to provide a complete and insightful picture of the economic impact of the U.S. flexible packaging industry. FPA’s data and reports enable members to benchmark their performance in the industry and gain insight to assist them in growing their businesses—and help with our advocacy efforts, as well.
FPA published its annual “State of the U.S. Flexible Packaging Industry Report,” which provides a comprehensive view of the U.S. packaging and flexible packaging segment of the industry. The report is a definitive source of data and information utilized by industry converters, suppliers, investors, and analysts. The report examines several aspects of the flexible packaging industry, including sales and utilization levels, current profit trends, capital spending plans, industry merger and acquisition activity, projected growth areas, U.S. imports and exports, and end-use application information. For the 2024 report, the U.S. flexible packaging industry was estimated to be $42.9 billion in annual sales for 2023, up from $41.5 billion in 2022, for a growth rate of 3.3%.
Food Waste Report
FPA partnered with PTIS, LLC to update its previous report on food waste to understand, identify, and document all of the latest information and reports on the growing importance and ways flexible packaging can play a role in food waste reduction. The report is titled “The Role of Flexible Packaging in Reducing Food Waste: Organizations, Goals, Case Studies, Insights, and Opportunities for Flexible Packaging.” The focus of the revised report is how flexible packaging’s unique characteristics lead to a reduction in food waste during distribution, at retail, and by the customer. The characteristics include new materials, additives, and active agents along with improved barrier properties of the materials used in flexible packaging, which extend shelf life, reclosability, enhanced product evacuation, and the ability to be sized appropriately. The results of the research were presented at the FPA FlexForward® Fall Conference in September 2024, and the final report was published in October 2024.
Food waste has a significant environmental impact, equivalent to the yearly emissions from approximately 50 million gasoline-powered vehicles. This figure is only increasing, as per capita food waste in the United States is rising at approximately 6% yearly.
Preventing food waste is a primary strategy for mitigating the environmental consequences of our food system. Food production represents over a quarter of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, exerting significant environmental pressures on water, land, energy, and other resources throughout the food supply chain. From farm to fork, the food system is responsible for 26% of all GHG emissions. In contrast, food packaging—from the extraction of basic materials like oil to the final converting operations—accounts for only 2.2% of all GHG emissions.
The flexible packaging industry has the opportunity to stand out as a leader in food waste prevention with science-based flexible packaging solutions for food waste prevention.
For More Information
The complete “Report to the Members” will be available on www.flexpack.org once it is published. For more information on FPA and its membership benefits, contact FPA at fpa@flexpack.org.
Dani Diehlmann is FPA vice president, communications.