Considering the future of CD packaging

"Given that electronic distribution of music will not overtake physical products until sometime in the next decade, there is a need currently to consider options to reduce the environmental impact of CD packaging,” states the executive summary of Comparing Packaging Options for Compact Discs: An Environmental and Toxicological Assessment - a new report from the Sustainable Packaging Working Group (SPWG).

Members of the group include Recording Industry Association of America member label and distribution representatives and The National Association of Recording Merchandisers member retailers and wholesalers.

SPWG commissioned an independent research organisation - Sustainability A to Z - to conduct the research and prepare the report. According to the research, CDs represented more than 80% of the global market in 2006, but the sales volume of physical media fell by 21% in 2007 compared with the previous year. The report notes that downloads of digital music have not been able to substitute for these losses and forecasts that electronic distribution of music won't overtake physical media until sometime in the next decade. Therefore, SPWG commissioned the study to further understand the environmental and human health impacts for several CD packaging option across a variety of environmental impact categories and considering the entire lifecycle of the package.

Read the full article here.