# Significance of Sustainable Packaging: A Case-Study from a Supply Chain Perspective
## 2 Literature Review
### Theoretical Framework  
Mostly the products are packed from final part of the production until they are unpacked by the end users for consumption, which interconnects the lifecycle of a product and its packaging. Therefore, the environmental impact on supply chain is not only influenced by the product design but it is also equally influenced by the packaging design [60].  
In order to cut down the negative environmental impact of packaging, companies and legislatures have now started to focus on the direct environmental impact of packaging which is related to packaging's life cycle [61]. In recent years, research have been conducted to inspect the influence of packaging on environment along with the SC of the packed product, results of which have shown that packaging designs such as multi-layered and single-use plastics have significance impact on the environment [62].  
Our theoretical framework that has been derived from the literature intends to capture the sustainable packaging with a supply chain perspective, the goal of which is to understand the obstructions of sustainable packaging practices.  
The literature shows that the previous studies have been conducted globally and within Pakistan related to sustainable packaging, where use of single-use plastic and multi-layered packaging has been strictly banned by the authorities. Even though plastic packaging is one of the most used ways of packaging used around the world. Though plastic is known for its longer lifespan and toughness, it is frequently used for single-use applications. Plastics output has been steadily increasing for more than half-century, peaking at 299 million metric tons in 2013 [63]. Multi-layered packaging has properties such as the increased shelf life of a product, higher protection [27]; the use of single-use plastics and multi-layered packaging has been banned in many countries. According to the new guidelines for environmental protection, role of packaging is not only limited to the protection of the product, but also it must be environmentally friendly [13].  
In Pakistan, evidence has been found where the use of multi-layered packaging and single-use plastics have been discouraged. [PERSON] et al. (2021) investigated the environmental consequences due to multilayer packaging waste and concluded that the avoidance of multi-layered material packaging is one of the policy initiatives that would significantly increase the flexible packaging's recyclability [31]. Companies have started to move towards sustainable packaging, such as Sapphire that came out with a concept of eco-friendly seed-infused shopping bags [44]. Currently, Midas Safety is also planning to move toward sustainability, on which our research is based on, and the below framework has been developed with the help of the literature.  
The above theoretical framework conceived from the current literature, develops a relationship between three sustainability pillars i.e., economic, social, and environment with supply chain perspective and packaging sustainability in order to find out the obstructions or barriers that our local packaging industry faces while connecting sustainable packaging with supply chain as shown in Figure 3 adopted from [64].