WPO launches World Packaging Day on September 6 to highlight industry’s role in global progress

GLOBAL – The World Packaging Organisation has officially designated September 6 as World Packaging Day, coinciding with the anniversary of its foundation, to raise global awareness of packaging’s critical role in food protection, economic development, sustainability, innovation and quality of life.

The inaugural celebration on 6 September 2026 marks a significant milestone for the global packaging industry, with the WPO calling on its 88 members representing 66 countries to organise local events and activities under a shared global identity. 

WPO President Luciana Pellegrino emphasised that packaging is present in every aspect of daily life, enabling efficient production chains, reducing losses and waste, and providing safe access to goods for better quality of life. 

Four Strategic Themes Guide World Packaging Day Campaign

The inaugural World Packaging Day campaign is built around four key themes, according to WPO Global Ambassador Chakravarthi AVPS. 

Packaging for Progress highlights packaging’s contribution to healthcare, pharmaceutical safety, product security, accessibility and quality of life. 

Packaging Against Food Waste focuses on the role of packaging technologies in protecting food, extending shelf life and reducing losses across the supply chain. 

Packaging and Economic Growth showcases packaging as an enabler of manufacturing, e-commerce, logistics, exports and employment. Packaging and Sustainability draws attention to circular economy principles, eco-design, recyclability, lightweighting and mono-material solutions.

Global Movement with Local Participation

World Packaging Day is envisaged as a decentralised, participatory global movement, with packaging associations, manufacturers, converters, machinery companies, material innovators, educational institutions and brands encouraged to organise technical seminars, factory open days, design competitions, student programmes and digital campaigns. 

The Institute of Packaging Ghana, a full WPO member, will mark the occasion with a Pan-African Knowledge-Sharing Forum later in September, themed “Shaping the Future of African Packaging through Innovation, Sustainability, and Intra-African Trade”. 

Indian packaging companies, industry associations and professionals can use the occasion to showcase innovations in sustainable materials, printing, converting and product protection. 

The global campaign encourages organisations to share their initiatives through social media using #WorldPackagingDay, creating a worldwide showcase of the industry’s contribution.

The initiative comes at a time when packaging is often discussed primarily through the lens of waste and environmental impact, with the WPO seeking to bring greater balance to the conversation by recognising the value packaging creates throughout the product lifecycle.

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