The packaging industry has become one of the most important industries, which can primarily be ascribed to the rapid expansion of the e-commerce sector all across the globe. While traditional packaging materials made extensive utilization of plastic, these days, the awareness regarding the negative impact of plastic on the environment is growing. Because of this, the focus has now shifted towards bio-based packaging materials, which are made up of renewable resources, including animal and plant waste. These materials are further non-toxic nature, environment-friendly, and need lesser raw materials for production.

In order to manufacture such products, industries are making use of green chemicals, thereby leading to the growth of the green chemicals market. These are renewable chemicals that are biodegradable and have no harmful side effects. In addition to being eco-friendly, these chemicals also offer higher functionality and performance. The surging concerns regarding the depletion of fossil fuels is among the major reasons that is leading to the growing demand for green chemicals. As people are becoming increasingly aware regarding the deteriorating condition of the environment, they are widely making use of alternative products that do not cause any harm to the nature.

The demand for ready-to-eat food has also increased across the globe, majorly in countries including Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. The changing lifestyle of people and their busier lifestyle have them with limited amount of time. In this situation, the popularity of ready-to-eat food items have been on a rise. In addition to this, the demand for organic food has also been on the rise. The packaging of these food products is being done by making use of bio-based packaging solutions, which, in turn, is driving the demand for green chemicals.

The global green chemicals market is predicted to attain a value of $18,474.2 million by 2030, increasing from $9,540.0 million in 2019, and is expected to register a 6.6% CAGR during the forecast period (2020–2030). On the basis of product, the market is categorized into organic acids, bioalcohols, biosolvents, and biopolymers, among which, the bioalcohols category accounted for the major share of the market in 2019. This can be attributed to the increasing adoption of bioethanol for producing biofuels and growing utilization of bioalcohols as an intoxicating agent in alcohol-based beverages. Owing to these factors, the category is further projected to hold the largest share of the market during the forecast period.

Geographically, the Asia-Pacific region dominated the green chemicals market in the past, as per a research conducted by P&S Intelligence. This is owing to the swiftly increasing requirement for renewable chemicals from end-user industries, such as personal care, food & beverages, and automotive, in emerging economies, including South Korea, China, Thailand, and India. The region is also home to various large-scale green chemical manufacturers. Companies in the domain are further emphasizing on research for developing new techniques to convert renewable biomass into chemicals for an extensive range of applications.

Hence, the demand for green chemicals is growing due to the increasing adoption of bio-based packaging materials and rising requirement for ready-to-eat food products.