I. Introduction

There is only one environment in which mankind survives - Earth. From the current situation, the ecological environment of the Earth is deteriorating. The basic factors for its deterioration lie in the artificially formed “three wastes”, namely “waste slag”, “exhaust gas” and “waste liquid”. The colorful waste packaging products and packaging materials are also one of the important sources of waste. The development of the packaging industry has made significant contributions to economic construction, and has also brought serious environmental problems to humanity. To improve the environment is urgent, environmental protection campaigns have been vigorously launched around the globe, and green packaging has emerged. Green packaging is a technical revolution in packaging, and it is an inevitable trend for the packaging industry to adapt to the tide of environmental protection.

Second, the concept of green packaging

As for green packaging, there is no unified definition in the academic field. The existing literature is not consistent with the basic arguments. Looking at various definitions, most of them are based on the role of green packaging. Regarding its role, the following two points are widely recognized: First, it is conducive to the preservation of natural resources; Second, the loss of the ecological environment is minimized.

In the economic sense, in the short term, green packaging is the packaging that minimizes the total external cost of the life cycle; in the long run, green packaging is the packaging that minimizes the total cost of life cycle, that is, the ultimate goal is to achieve the product life cycle. The packaging of the sum of internal and external costs is minimized. Green packaging has the following features:

From the perspective of purpose, it is conducive to the protection of natural resources and has the least loss to the ecological environment. From the perspective of cost, it refers to the life cycle cost of packaging products, which includes both traditional internal costs and external costs, that is, environmental costs. Therefore, it has both economic benefits and social benefits. It is an organic unity of the two; therefore, it is a dynamic concept. With the advancement of science and technology, the overall trend of green packaging is to gradually minimize the total cost of life cycle. .

After understanding the characteristics of green packaging, green packaging can be defined as follows: Green packaging is nuisance-free packaging, which refers to packaging materials and products that are reused or recycled without pollution. In other words, the entire process of packaging products from the selection of raw materials, product manufacturing, use to recycling and disposal meets the requirements of ecological and environmental protection. It includes such contents as saving the material resources, reducing the amount, avoiding the generation of waste, easy recycling or regeneration, burning or degrading, etc.

Third, the inevitability of the formation of green packaging

1. The green packaging conforms to the needs of international environmental protection trends. With the impact of the environmental protection wave, consumers have increasingly higher requirements for product packaging. They demand that the new packaging should meet the "3R1D" requirements (Recluse reduction, Reuse recycling, Recycle recycling, Degradable degradable). People have paid attention to purchasing environmentally friendly products. In many economically developed countries, products with environmental signs or no pollution to the environment are particularly favored by consumers. At the same time, commodities with green logos are easily accepted by foreign investors in foreign trade, and they can get preferential tariffs and prices. Conversely, there are no green-label products. Some foreign companies may refuse sales, and prices and tariffs may not receive preferential treatment.

2. Green packaging is a requirement of WTO and related trade agreements. Environmental protection has been put on the agenda, and the Trade and Environment Agreement has been added to the WTO package. In the regional integration of multilateral trade negotiations, environmental protection has always been one of the themes. The multilateral environmental regulations in these countries have prompted companies to produce products and packaging that meet environmental requirements.

3. Green packaging is one of the important ways to bypass new trade barriers. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has also formulated the corresponding standard ISO 14000, the “International Environmental Management Standard”. It contains 6 subsystems, mainly including: 1. Environmental Management System (EMS); 2. Environmental Auditing and Certification (EA); 3. Environmental Labeling (EL); 4. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); 5. Environmental Behavior Assessment (EPE); 6. Environmental Standards in Products (EAPS). This is a strict and rigorous system that will bring immeasurable boost to the world's green projects. It will become an important non-tariff barrier and technical barrier in international trade. In July 1993, the European Community officially launched the European "Environmental Mark". At present, the EC's imported products must be applied to countries to obtain green marks. Products that do not have green marks must be restricted to entering the above countries. Green packaging helps break through the technical barriers that trade protectionists use to set up packaging.

4. Green packaging is one of the powerful means of international marketing. In modern merchandising, many marketers call packagiing the 5th P. The first four Ps are Price, Produce, Place, and Promotion. Packaging has become an important factor. With the emphasis on environmental protection, green packaging is increasingly important in marketing and is increasingly welcomed by consumers. The important content of the 21st century's green revolution is the "green packaging revolution" as an important weight for the new round of market competition. It is certain that green packaging products with a strong green atmosphere have strong vitality and competitiveness in the international market.

5, green packaging is conducive to the adjustment of the national industrial policy. “The Ninth Five-Year Development Plan of the National Packaging Industry and the Vision Development Objective of 2010” clearly stated that the development of the packaging industry should follow the principle of combining accelerated growth with the protection of the environment. While the packaging industry is developing rapidly, it is necessary to strengthen the protection of the environment and to avoid repeating the mistakes of the developed countries in terms of “pollution first and then governance”. To use modern new technology, from the packaging of raw and auxiliary materials, to packaging technology and machinery equipment, packaging waste management and disposal and supporting policies, regulations, taxes and distribution of all aspects of coordination, implementation of the "green packaging project." It is necessary to vigorously promote green packaging, replace traditional materials with high-performance materials, use advanced technologies to increase the reuse rate and recycling rate of packaging materials, form birch production scale, reduce costs, and enable it to have both good social effects and certain Economic benefits.

6. Green packaging is an important aspect of China's implementation of sustainable development strategies. The Fourth Session of the Eighth National People's Congress formally approved the implementation of China's "Ninth Five-Year Plan" and the long-term sustainable development strategy for 2010. Sustainable development theory is the theoretical basis of green marketing, and green packaging is an important part of effective means to achieve sustainable development. Since the reform and opening up, China’s rapid economic development has attracted worldwide attention. However, due to their relatively weak environmental awareness, the economic growth in many places has come at the expense of the environment or the predatory exploitation of resources, which has led to a deteriorating environment. Contamination from the packaging can be seen everywhere. The green packaging has the characteristics of no pollution, reusability, and resource conservation, and fully meets this strategic requirement. The green packaging strategy of reducing packaging, reusing packaging, and recycling packaging was put on the agenda.

Fourth, green packaging system and implementation

The implementation of green packaging is the need to protect the environment, and it is also a means to increase the development potential of the packaging industry in China and improve competitiveness. The content of green packaging along with the progress of science and technology, the development of packaging can have new connotations. From this we can see that green packaging is a systematic project and it is a reflection of the packaging industry's responsibility for the future. Discussing the composition of the packaging system has its practical significance.

(1) Green Packaging System Green packaging shall include aspects such as technology, application, management, evaluation, policy, and law. Through this system, the smooth implementation of green packaging shall be ensured.

1. The technical system green packaging requires technological innovation. Technological innovation refers to the formation of an idea that can be used to produce a product that satisfies the needs of the market. The implementation of technological innovation involves not only technological progress but also innovation in organizational culture and systems. Green packaging technology should be conducive to the continuous decline in the cost of life cycle of packaging products. Therefore, the green packaging technology innovation approach can be sought from the life cycle of packaged products to establish a green packaging technology system.

(1) Raw material innovation Raw materials are at the source of the packaging product life cycle. Choosing good raw materials controls the source of environmental pollution. Therefore, raw material innovation is very important. The green technological innovation of packaging raw materials should be considered from the following aspects: First, natural materials; second, ecological materials or ecological transformation of traditional materials.

Paying attention to the direct use of natural resources and vigorously developing the packaging of natural materials are important ways for the innovation of green packaging materials. The benefits of natural materials packaging: First, the product life cycle chain shortened, only through several stages of raw materials, manufacturing, use and disposal, the cycle chain is short, the loss of the environment is small; second, it can be naturally degraded after abandon, no harm to the environment.

The development of ecological materials is to develop materials that have little environmental pollution from raw materials to processing processes and that can be easily degraded or recycled after use. At present, the degradable plastics being researched, developed and tried at home and abroad are photodegradable plastics, biodegradable plastics, and water-soluble plastics. Each direction has extremely significant environmental significance and market potential.

(2) Processing and manufacturing technology Innovation and manufacturing are the product life cycle stages immediately following the raw materials. First of all, the innovation of raw materials is inseparable from the manufacturing and technological innovation. Any kind of raw material must be processed and manufactured before it becomes a packaged product. Secondly, the original processing technology was not considered comprehensively in terms of environmental issues during design and construction. After the environment became prominent, it also needed to be improved to meet the new environmental requirements.

Innovations in processing and manufacturing technologies can be divided into two categories: first, the development of zero-emission pollution prevention technologies; and second, the development of end-of-pipe technologies aimed at reducing already-generated pollutants and waste. Both are for cleaner production.

(3) Recycling and reuse, waste treatment technology innovation In the packaging industry, recycling and reuse, waste disposal technology is particularly important. Such as "white pollution" caused people to pay great attention to plastic packaging. Knowledgeable scholars believe that the key to solving "white pollution" is recycling and proper disposal. Various countries in the world have taken various measures to take responsibility for product recycling, reuse and waste disposal. Some foreign packaging companies regard product recycling as important as the product itself. Not only must pay attention to the recycling of waste, but also pay attention to the commercial use of recycled materials. A large amount of evidence proves that regenerating resources from garbage is a visionary insight. It is an image metaphor to refer to waste paper as “urban forest resources” abroad.

(4) Management innovation Management innovation is the innovation of the management of all stages of the packaging product life cycle. For example, the recycling organization of packaging waste needs good management and waste collection and collection to facilitate recycling. At present, China needs to establish a well-run recycling management system.

(5) Combinational innovation The so-called combinational innovation is the appropriate selection and combination of the above-mentioned several kinds of innovations to obtain the combined benefits. In fact, many technological innovations are combinatorial innovations. Only through a combination of several innovations can innovation benefits be maximized.

2. Application system For the promotion and application of some new green packaging technologies, it must be ensured through certain means. That is to say, there is a green packaging application system to ensure that the main processes, equipment and materials of green packaging technology are in place and implemented. And according to certain procedures to achieve the promotion of the green packaging standards. The green packaging application system includes the determination of the supply channels for green packaging materials, the identification of quality standards, the processing before and after use, and the guidance for recycling methods. What kind of packaging is suitable for what kind of product can be passed through the green packaging application.

3. Management System Enterprises should establish a green packaging management system to formulate, implement and implement green packaging policies, conduct assessments and management, and so on. For the material container manufacturers of the packaging industry, they cannot only be satisfied with "provincial capital, energy conservation, recycling and recycling." Enterprises should establish long-term benefits and establish a green packaging management system. The management system will guide companies to constantly improve their environmental behavior.

4. Evaluation System When a company establishes and runs a green packaging management system, it needs a system management approach to the environmental impact of the company.