Rebecca Hubbard
Posted: Friday, September 3, 2010 11:57 am

easyfairs have announced 'The BIG Packaging Debate' at next month's Packaging Innovations show in London, where packaging's role in the supply chain will be the main focus of proceedings.

The session, which will be modelled on the BBC's Question Time, will have environmentalists, brand consultants and packaging specialists taking part.

Superbrands founder Marcel Knobil, environmentalist Julia Hailes and Robert Opie, founder of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising are just some of the panelists confirmed.

The debate will be chaired by Kevin Vyse from The Packaging Society. He said: "Packaging is part and parcel of our everyday life, yet its contribution is either taken for granted or else misunderstood by the public at large; it’s needed but rarely respected. 

"When the focus shifts to environmental concerns, it’s invariably vilified for incurring unnecessary carbon footprint or else ridiculed as being superfluous to requirements.

"Maybe the underlying problem is more to do with our consumerism habits than we might care to admit. Even so, having successfully created the successful image for so many products, why has packaging failed to do the same for itself?"

The debate will take place at the end of the first day of the show on 7th October at 5:15pm.