Mapping Research Trends in Green Packaging: A Bibliometric Review (2000–2023)

With over 141 million tons of packaging waste generated globally each year and limited recycling efficiency, packaging pollution has become a pressing environmental issue, driving increased scholarly interest in green packaging. However, existing studies have primarily focused on individual domains, lacking a systematic and comprehensive review, which restricts interdisciplinary integration and obscures overarching trends and gaps. To address this, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of green packaging research using CiteSpace and VOSviewer, drawing on peer-reviewed English-language articles published between 2000 and 2023 in the Web of Science Core Collection. The analysis examined collaboration networks, co-citation patterns, and keyword co-occurrence trends. Results reveal significant growth in publications since 2018, with research spanning environmental science, food technology, and business, alongside increasing interdisciplinary integration. Collaboration networks are particularly strong within China and Malaysia, though international collaboration remains limited, while co-citation analysis highlights high-impact work on material performance, consumer behavior, and supply chain strategies, with life cycle assessment emerging as the most widely applied analytical tool. This study synthesizes the current knowledge framework, identifies key trends and challenges, and outlines future research directions—including consumer payment behavior, corporate sustainability strategies, and the development of innovative packaging materials—providing strategic guidance for advancing green packaging research.