Ever since the Industrial Revolution, humankind has had a serious impact on the global climate. With the burning of coal and other fossil fuels, we have released millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air. It seems like every day brings another news story about how climate change and environmental degradation are harming the planet – such as the fires in Australia, the melting of polar ice caps, record droughts. You might be asking yourself, what can you as an online merchant do about this?
The answer is sustainable packaging! Sustainable packaging or green-packaging can play an important role in keeping the planet healthy – it can help your business cut its carbon footprint and generate far less waste. In this blog post, we will be having a closer look at why is it important for your company to use eco-friendly packaging and the benefits of sustainable packaging.
So what is Eco-Friendly packaging?
Green packaging is a form of environmentally-friendly packaging that is made out of renewable or recycled materials – which is safe and sustainable for both individuals and the environment.
What are the main characteristics of sustainable packaging?
- They produce little or no environmental waste
- They are made from reusable or biodegradable packaging materials
- Eco-friendly packaging is safe for people and the environment
What are the benefits of using sustainable packaging?
Sustainable packaging can have a very positive impact on the environment, your business and your customers. If you do it right, green packaging can help your business increase its profits. Let’s have a closer look at how sustainable packaging can help both the planet and your business.
Easy to dispose of and recycle
Sustainable packaging is easy to dispose of or reused. It’s very biodegradable and recyclable, meaning that it’s by far the best form of environmentally friendly packaging available today.
Lower carbon footprint and fewer materials used
The production of environmentally friendly packaging involves fewer carbon emissions and little to no waste. Also, to make these sustainable packaging types, manufacturers use less materials and energy – and most of the materials used are organic. The manufacturing cost of green packaging is less than regular packaging – it can help your business save money.
Use of natural materials
The lack of synthetic chemicals used to make the packaging means it’s much healthier for both people and the environment.
Better company image
Using sustainable packaging can boost your image and make your company stand out. As more an more people worldwide become environmentally conscious, your company can be at the forefront by using green packaging for all your products.
What type of packaging is Eco-friendly?
If you want to become one of those pioneering eco-friendly businesses, you’ll need to know what alternative eco-friendly packaging options are available. Let’s see what are your options:
Let’s start with recycled and reusable packing materials
Recycled cardboard and wrapping sheets are all readily available, being an industry standard and made from eco-friendly organic materials. Using recycled cardboard can have an instant positive impact on the environment as millions of tons of cardboard boxes are thrown away as garbage every year.
Recycled plastic
This is useful for packing items that need extra support – plastic, while environmentally degrading has long been an option for this. Nowadays, there is an option to use recycled plastic made out of other plastic materials that have been discarded. There are much more eco-friendly and help to reduce the circulation of plastic waste. These are much more eco-friendly and still, check the box if you are looking for a green packaging alternative.
Environmentally-friendly fillers
We’re talking about biodegradable packaging peanuts! – these can be used instead of EPS or Styrofoam peanuts. You might find that these work a lot better most of the time and they are a lot more easy on the environment as well.
Another filler that you can replace is bubble wrap. It’s no secret that bubble wrap is made out of plastic and that it’s hazardous for the environment. An eco-friendly alternative would be the use of up-cycled corrugated cardboard – this can serve the same purpose as bubble wrap and for insulation, you can use air pillows made out of recycled plastic as well.
Organic Materials
One of the best materials to make packaging out of is cornstarch! It has plastic-like qualities and it can be easily used as packaging material in many situations. Another great alternative is mushroom packaging. With mushroom packaging, agricultural waste is added to mushroom roots to make organic packaging materials. Due to the fact that it’s made out of wastes, it makes for a great biodegradable packaging option that also won’t impact global food supplies.
Final thoughts
With the climate changing more and more as each day passes and there is more and more trash piling up around the globe, why not try and do your part in protecting our only planet? As an eCommerce entrepreneur, you can do your part by using sustainable packaging to keep the world clean for future generations.