<p>The packaging industry predominantly relies on plastic due to its accessibility. However, single-use plastics (SUPs) constitute a significant portion of food packaging and typically end up in landfills after use, leading to detrimental environmental effects. To address the issues associated with SUPs, the present study evaluated bulk packaging for black pepper, considering multiwall sustainable paper packaging without wax coating (M1), with wax coating (M2), MET PET lamination (M3), and aluminum foil lamination (M4). Among them, MET PET (3.48&#xa0;g/m²·day) and aluminum foil (0.908&#xa0;g/m²·day) exhibited superior moisture barrier properties compared to the control package M1 (10.5&#xa0;g/m²·day). Due to inadequate moisture barrier performance, the black pepper packed in M1 reached the critical moisture content (CMC) within 81&#xa0;days, which led to the formation of small lumps and caking in the packed black pepper, resulting in product deterioration and a reduced aroma. In contrast, the black pepper packed in the M4 package extended the shelf life to 300&#xa0;days. Transport worthiness tests confirmed that all packaging variants used in the study were suitable for export. However, the M4 multilayered packaging demonstrated the most extended shelf life of 300&#xa0;days under ambient conditions (27 ± 2&#xa0;°C and 65 ± 2% RH), outperforming the others. These findings suggest that M4 multilayered packaging can be an effective alternative to SUPs, supporting producers in advancing sustainability and contributing to a circular economy.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>