Anaheim, CA—Earlier this year, One Step Closer (OSC) held a special State of Sustainable Packaging Super Session & Awards Ceremony during Natural Products Expo West. Now in its third year, the event pays tribute to industry brands and material providers prioritizing environmental stewardship and advancing the sustainability of their packaging and lifecycle management. Selected by a panel of expert judges familiar with materials science, waste management, and sustainable manufacturing, this year's awards recipients were also presented with a free full-year membership to the OSC Packaging Collaborative.
"The Packaging Innovation Awards showcase brands and material providers that are leading the way in rethinking packaging to reduce waste, improve sustainability, and drive industry-wide change," said Eliza Brady, Director of the Packaging Collaborative at One Step Closer. "By recognizing and amplifying these efforts, we hope to accelerate the adoption of packaging solutions that balance functionality, consumer appeal, and environmental responsibility."
The Packaging Innovation Award Winners
Sponsored by SpecRight and Trayak, the Packaging Innovation Awards are more than just an award ceremony, they offer the industry an opportunity to uplift the companies truly committed to creating systemic change for a more sustainable, equitable future. OSC's event also creates an occasion for forward-thinking brands and companies committed to finding a solution for single-use packaging waste within the natural products industry to connect and appreciate one another's efforts. The list of 2025 winners included:
Innovation in Materials (Brands)
Blue Heron Botanicals, Home compostable or curbside recyclable paper tubes for lip balms and herbal balms.
The paper tubes used by the company for its lip balms and herbal balms consists of 100% PCW recycled paper lip balm tubes and larger salve tubes made with 60% FSC Certified paper and 40% PCW recycled paper with waxed lining. “I was ready to launch an herbal product line using plastic lip balm tubes, vinyl labels and tins with vinyl labels then I read an article about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch sometime around 2010,” said Theora Jackson, Owner of Blue Heron Botanicals. “I was shocked by the sheer amount of waste floating in the oceans and could not have my brand putting plastic waste out into the world. So, I stopped where I was with planning the brand and did a deep dive on sustainable materials and committed myself to creating the most sustainable herbal skincare line available.”
Innovation in Materials (Material Providers)
World Centric, Fiber based scoop for protein powders.
World Centric's Fiber Scoop was recognized for its advancements in the development of original, sustainable packaging materials that perform well and do not affect the safety of the product they are used for.
Innovation in Refillable Packaging Systems
Activist Skincare, Refillable skincare products
The sustainable skincare brand was honored for reducing carbon emissions and plastic waste. Through their use of Mylar packaging and promotion of refillable products they were able to achieve a 99% reduction in shipping emissions and an 80% cut in plastic use.
