Minimising material use
Using the bare minimum of material which will allow the product to perform as required by customers is desirable for economic as well as environmental reasons.
There are regulations which oblige manufacturers to design packaging using the minimum amount of materials (taking into account other design considerations such as protection for the product, display of information, etc.). And there are provisions for restricting the concentrations of heavy metals in the materials (see Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 in the EEF Register of Environmental Legislation).
Any product will give rise to environmental impacts through all stages of its life cycle. The study of this life cycle and assessment of the impacts is the technique known as life cycle assessment (LCA).