Could Blockchain Be the Future of the Beauty Packaging Industry?

At Luxe Pack New York, Adam Peek, founder and host of the People of Packaging podcast and VP of revenue operations at Meyers, gave a presentation entitled, “Blockchain and Crypto Packaging,” where he posed the question, “what might the future hold for our industry?”

What is Blockchain?

According to Peek, blockchain is a cryptographically secured distributed ledger system which allows for secure, decentralized control over processes.
 
Each block in the chain contains a number of transactions, and every time a new transaction occurs on the blockchain, a record of that transaction is added to every participant’s ledger.
 
The benefit  of blockchain for the packaging industry is threefold, says Peek. It allows for greater transparency, better security and more speed.

Potential Impact on the Industry

There are several ways that blockchain can improve the packaging industry, Peek explains, including:
 

• Quoting: No longer would we need complex custom quoting systems which take days. Blockchain could make pricing available in seconds.
• Order Tracking: A robust BC would allow for any person to know the exact stage of every job at all times.
• Proofing and Quality Assurance: Connecting disparate systems through agreed upon standards means that a blockchain could validate accuracy when combined with robust vision systems. 

Crypto & Recycling

Peek also argues that blockchain could potentially help encourage recycling.
 
“Using a more robust system involving optical scanners and Digimark, we could create a DAPP (decentralized app) which would reward consumers who properly recycle along with brands who use valuable circular materials,” he explains.
 
For example, if all packaging had a scannable code—consumers could get rewards for recycling, such as a form of cryptocurrency. This would allow consumers to make choices based on recyclability and give them an extra incentive to recycle and shop for eco-friendly brands.
 
Peek believes that using crypto tokens for rewards programs could become the new future for brands as they create a market for the tokens across different channels, platforms, or partner brands. Furthermore, Peek argues that NFTs—when combined with limited-edition packaging—could help brands engage with consumers on a whole new level. 

Challenges

Blockchain uses a massive amount of computing power, which means that as the value of cryptocurrencies rise and each cryptographic problem grows with the network, more energy is required, leading to increased carbon emissions and contributing to climate change.
 
For instance, according to Fortune, a single Ethereum transaction consumes as much electricity as an average U.S. household uses in a workweek. Ethereum is working on an upgrade that it says will reduce its carbon footprint by 99%, but many critics are still skeptical.
 
Even Elon Musk recently said Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin as a payment method because of environmental concerns.
 
“It is a problem, but that shouldn’t stop us from innovating,” says Peek about environmental concerns.
 
Much of the infrastructure needed to implement blockchain in the beauty packaging industry does not exist yet, but Peek’s main point that he wants people to understand is the importance of “dreaming big and thinking big to create change.”