Smurfit Westrock on cost versus value in sustainable packaging

This week: Don Sparaco, president US and Canada for Corrugated Packaging at Smurfit Westrock, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh at the recent Sustainable Packaging Innovation Forum in Chicago. They discuss how a flat packaging market is pushing brands to compete on innovation, and why Sparacco separates cost from value when making the case for sustainable packaging. He also explains how time-limited co-creation sessions with customers help teams choose an improved solution now over a perfect one later.

And, Niamh Campbell, portfolio lead for apparel and textile at Innovation Forum, looks ahead to 2027 in apparel and textiles, including the pressure on sustainability teams to prove a business case, the contractual gaps in brand-supplier relationships and the risk of AI accelerating overconsumption.

Plus: COP31 opens in Antalya with just transition and finance gaps; the European Commission formally withdraws the green claims directive; Norrøna and Uluu develop a seaweed-based performance fibre; and Patagonia brings Worn Wear resale onto its main website, in the news digest by Innovation Forum’s Babette Pagès.

Host: Ian Welsh