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A study of the evolution of packaging is inextricably linked to the evolution of consumption habits, in particular, and of society as a whole. "Tell me how you pack your products, and I’ll tell you who you are..."
In the rural society which prevailed until the industrial revolution of the 19th century, packaging was as rudimentary as the living conditions of the time. Packaging was often standardised and could be used for a number of different purposes: transporting food, wood or tools. We are talking more about receptacles than about packaging, a role they did not fulfil with much success. The role of packaging was just to ensure the conservation and transportation of products. There were considerable losses of resources. The individual was not a consumer but a user of resources that were essential for survival.
The industrial revolution gave a considerable impetus to the need for packaging. Mass production and developments in modes of transport created new needs. We moved from a society where trade was limited and each community produced goods it needed to a society where activities became more and more specialised. Products were no longer used by their producer or his or her immediate neighbours, but were now transported, sold and consumed. New manufacturing procedures and transport conditions determined the forms that packaging should take. That is how barrels evolved especially adapted for sea transportation, as well as boxes that were easy to move and store.
The packaging of products had the principal aims of protecting them and facilitating their transport, making them available to more people. Retailers would then simply unpack products before selling them. Individual packaging was not yet used and no real thought had been given to packaging as a means of communication or as a sales tool. Products were packaged and then sold in bulk. Shopkeepers handled the products, weighing them and wrapping them individually, with little concern for hygiene, while their customers watched carefully to make sure they were getting what they asked for. Modern society as we know it was still in an embryonic stage.
The second packaging revolution came after the Second World War, parallel to the development of the post-war economy. After having been used to serve the needs principally of the product (protection) and then the producer (transportation), packaging began to focus on the needs of the consumer. Distribution systems were in the process of changing radically, from open markets and small local grocery stores to supermarkets. From then on, packaging was used for each individual product, so that it was ready to be picked up from the shelf and taken away by the consumer. The era of self-service had begun thanks to packaging of pre-packed products. Products were pre-packed. Another consequence of this new method of consumption was that information about the product could be printed on the packaging. After all, the shopkeeper was no longer able to convey the necessary information in a large supermarket.
Consumption rose considerably, as did the population. This was the age of the baby boom, which was twinned by a consumption boom, packaging being the pre-condition for the modern retail trade.
Packaged products soon became a much-desired commodity and packaging had to adapt to the latest trends. It is no coincidence that the mass introduction of plastic packaging dates from this era. Packaging was to emerge as an industry, and was automated to keep up with the accelerating pace of developments. Demands for quality began to rise, thus making ever greater demands on state-of-the-art technologies.
The increasing importance placed on the individual and the increase of working women made it once again necessary for packaging to find a means of surpassing itself. Consumption became mobile, people were on the move and time was precious. Packaging faced up to this new challenge by means of vacuum-packed food, using materials that could withstand the impact of being taken out of the deep-freezer to be popped into a microwave.
As if this growing complexity was not enough, consumption also became more global. Products made on the other side of the world had to be able to arrive in our shops in perfect condition. Packaging had to be made even more resistant, protective, and easily transportable.
The (provisional) end of this story is evident in our shops and daily lives. Our supermarkets are able to offer ever more exotic products, our household appliances have sometimes travelled many kilometres before reaching our homes, and our fridges are filled with convenience foods. The world is becoming a truly global village.
Packaging has played a key role in this.
This article reproduced by kind permission of
EUROPEN - The European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment
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