The company's latest 2025 initiatives signal a deliberate evolution from product provider to circularity enabler. With solutions like the Tape Back return-ready e-commerce box, the DryPack cold chain container, and the GoChill Cooler, DS Smith is translating environmental intelligence into practical, scalable innovations for both B2B and B2C markets.
As online retail volumes grow, so too does the pressure to mitigate the environmental and economic impact of product returns. DS Smith’s Tape Back addresses this directly—merging user experience design with lifecycle sustainability.
Unlike traditional packaging, which often requires secondary materials for returns, Tape Back incorporates a built-in return strip, eliminating additional components and reducing overall waste. From a systems-level view, the packaging is designed for recyclability, simplicity, and supply chain efficiency. It avoids the pitfalls of mixed materials and plastic-based tear strips, which complicate recycling and undermine sustainability claims.
This innovation reflects a broader trend: brands are scrutinizing the entire packaging journey—not just what goes out the door, but what comes back. With 75% of consumers interpreting excessive empty space in packaging as a signal that sustainability is not a priority, brands have little margin for error.
By integrating its proprietary Circular Design Metrics, DS Smith is enabling customers to quantify improvements, benchmarking material reduction, recyclability, and overall environmental performance.
DS Smith’s DryPack system, originally developed for the seafood industry, underscores the company’s ambition to eliminate wax-coated and Styrofoam-based cold chain packaging. Utilizing the patented Greencoat® technology, DryPack delivers moisture resistance, food safety compliance, and temperature control—all while remaining fully recyclable and flat-packed to reduce shipping emissions.
More than a packaging solution, DryPack is a case study in supply chain decarbonization. It meets the rigorous requirements of the International Air Transport Association, making it viable for both short and long-haul seafood distribution—a traditionally plastic-intensive logistics segment.
For partners like Norway’s Kvarøy Arctic, the shift to fiber-based packaging aligns sustainability with brand strategy. “Our packaging in corrugated board is a win for both the environment and our brand,” said CEO Alf-Gøran Knutsen.
With bans and public scrutiny mounting, DS Smith is accelerating the market exit of single-use plastic and polystyrene. Its GoChill Cooler is the latest breakthrough—a reusable, recyclable alternative to Styrofoam that appeals directly to eco-conscious consumers.
Designed for durability and food-grade performance, the cooler reflects broader consumer sentiment uncovered in DS Smith’s recent survey:
This is not anecdotal data—it’s strategic intelligence that DS Smith is using to forecast demand and guide product development. The GoChill offering also opens doors in adjacent sectors, from consumer goods and retail promotions to outdoor events and seasonal activations.
At its core, DS Smith’s 2025 strategy is not just about packaging—it’s about systemic redesign. The company has already replaced over 1 billion pieces of plastic in customer supply chains and launched over 30,000 circular-ready projects, driven by its Now and Next sustainability platform.
Where most suppliers chase incremental improvement, DS Smith is operationalizing circularity at scale—embedding environmental metrics into the design process, reducing the total cost of ownership for sustainable packaging, and enabling large brands to shift from compliance-driven changes to competitive advantage.
From product design to supply chain optimization, DS Smith is demonstrating that packaging can—and must—be a tool for climate resilience, waste reduction, and enhanced brand trust.
Cheryl Holliday, Director of Marketing, DS Smith North America stated,
“We’re redefining packaging for a changing world. These innovations reflect our belief that sustainability and business performance are not mutually exclusive—they are interdependent.”
The DS Smith model exemplifies a shift happening across industries: sustainability is no longer a discrete initiative—it’s a design principle, a cost efficiency lever, and a market differentiator.
As retailers, manufacturers, and logistics providers confront rising material costs, shifting regulations, and growing ESG scrutiny, DS Smith is offering not just products, but platforms for sustainable transformation.
And in doing so, it’s helping the packaging industry evolve from an afterthought into a cornerstone of the circular economy.
