# 125 - Happy 4/20! Cannabis Round Table with Sustainable Packaging professionals!

- Show: [People of Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging)
- Published: 2022-04-20
- Length: 45m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals
- Listen: https://encase.substack.com/p/125-happy-420-cannabis-round-table-e62

## Summary

Adam Peak hosts a roundtable with Lily Gayman of Change Maker Creative, Christine Barrington of Sundance, Dustin Steerman of CMYK, Mickey Waite, and Rick Fitzgerald of Merchant Boxes to discuss sustainable packaging in the cannabis industry. The panel addresses the misconception that sustainable packaging is prohibitively expensive, highlighting innovations in compostable and post-consumer recycled (PCR) flexible packaging. They detail the significant regulatory hurdles, including state-by-state variations, child-resistant (CR) requirements, and Section 280E tax implications that complicate multi-state operations and material choices.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals#t=6) Introduction: Adam Peak and the Cannabis Roundtable Panel
- [1:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals#t=104) Panelist Introductions: Change Maker Creative, Sundance, CMYK, and Merchant Boxes
- [11:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals#t=702) Sustainability Costs: Debunking the Price Premium Myth
- [13:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals#t=787) Technical Challenges: Compostable vs. Child-Resistant (CR) Packaging
- [18:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals#t=1092) Regulatory Hurdles: State Laws, Hazardous Waste, and Recycling Streams
- [22:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals#t=1359) Material Innovations: Hemp-Based Plastics, Paper, and Circular Economy Models
- [30:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals#t=1801) Business Constraints: Section 280E Taxes and Multi-State Scaling Issues

## Topics

- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Change Maker Creative (company)
- Sundance (company)
- CMYK (company)
- Merchant Boxes (company)
- 1906 (product)
- Green Food Green (company)
- Aurora Maverick (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Robots and Regulations: Transforming the Cannabis Industry](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2025-09-05-robots-and-regulations-transforming-the-cannabis-industry) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [Ep. 8: Build a Food Business with Teeth - Chloe Sorvino, Forbes Magazine](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2020-08-13-ep-8-build-a-food-business-with-teeth-chloe-sorvino-forbes-magazine) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#203 - Packaging Your Brand 101: Jamie Valenti-Jordan and Andy Kurtts](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-07-01-203-packaging-your-brand-101-jamie-valenti-jordan-and-andy-kurtts) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [From Make-Use-Throw Away to Circular: Plastics Manufacturing’s Next Chapter w/ Ross Eisenberg](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-06-03-from-make-use-throw-away-to-circular-plastics-manufacturings-next-chapter-w-ross) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [S6E51 Eric Richins | What It's Like Being A Packaging Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-12-19-s6e51-eric-richins-what-its-like-being-a-packaging-engineer) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-04-20-125-happy-4-20-cannabis-round-table-with-sustainable-packaging-professionals. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to People of Packaging.