Bags are flooding in: 22 billion plastic packaging could go out of fashion by 2030

The fashion industry’s online expansion could lead to a drastic increase in plastic packaging: according to a survey commissioned by DS Smith, online fashion retailers in six leading European countries (including the United Kingdom, Germany and France) used 2.9 billion plastic bags in 2024. That’s 7.8 million per day – and the trend is rising.

According to the forecast, we can expect 4.2 billion of such packaging per year by 2030, or a total of 21.8 billion in five years. The worrying data is not only about the quantity: currently only 7% of these bags are recycled, the rest are landfilled or incinerated – more than 2.6 billion pieces per year.

Recycling on the decline, e-commerce on the rise

While many countries – including Hungary – have already taken action to regulate plastic bags sold in physical stores, e-commerce packaging is often left out of these measures. According to DS Smith, this could lead to serious ecological consequences if there is no rapid and decisive change.

“Together with the world’s biggest brands, we have already replaced more than a billion pieces of plastic packaging in recent years, but this is still not enough. There are simply not enough paper-based alternatives on the market,” said Levente Szabó, Managing Director of DS Smith Packaging Hungary Kft.