Every time you ship a product the packaging is either thrown into a landfill or in a recycling bin. This means that your business generates waste on a regular basis, and even those recyclable materials never end up being recycled or reused. Fortunately, switching to sustainable packaging can bring advantages to you and your customers, not to mention the strong impact on the environment.
In this article, you'll learn about sustainable packaging for your e-commerce business, as well as tips on how to make the transition, its benefits, and strategies you can take to mitigate the brunt of this drastic change that often comes with it.
What is sustainable packaging?
Sustainable packaging is an environmentally friendly material used to transport and store goods. These materials are designed to reduce the consumption of non-natural resources on the planet, or to minimise your contribution to this consumption.
This is the simplest definition of sustainable packaging, but we can dig a little deeper based on some of the criteria from the Sustainable Packaging Alliance. The organization strives to change all methods of manufacturing e-commerce shipping email list to adhere to environmentally friendly shipping practices.
The organization states that the following conditions must be met in order to be considered for sustainability of custom-packaged items:
The purpose of packaging is to optimize energy and materials.
Throughout the life cycle, the packaging remains useful and environmentally friendly.
It is manufactured using the cleanest technology and best practices known for maintaining sustainability.
Packaging is made from recycled or renewable materials.
Packaging meets standard market cost and performance requirements. In short, it should still be affordable and functional.
It is recycled and used in closed loop reusable and recycling cycles.
Packaging materials are manufactured, shipped and recycled using renewable energy options.
Not all of these criteria are met simply because you are working with raw material suppliers that claim to be environmentally friendly. And you don't need to check all those boxes to at least make an effort for sustainable packaging. But it's a great start to earth-friendly shipping practices that you can strive to meet all standards while adapting to new packaging and methods.
Offers the benefits of sustainable packaging
Sustainable shipping and eco-friendly packaging offer a wide range of benefits to online retailers, shippers, and even customers who receive these packaging.
We know that it is often difficult to justify an investment in sustainable packaging, but the benefits can shape your perspective and generate substantial profits for your business.
It can save your company money in the long run – sustainable packaging often allows you to consolidate your storage because the packaging is lighter, smaller and uses less material. You also save on shipping costs because you focus on smaller packages, so shipping costs are lower. Finally, sustainable shipping minimizes unnecessary packaging inserts, again reducing your costs.
You waste far less exhaust gas – big manufacturers contribute a lot to global carbon emissions. Reducing your emissions not only shows that your company is contributing to protecting the planet, but other companies are sure to appreciate it and turn to your brand.
Customers make buying decisions based on sustainability – helping the planet is not just a trend that will come and go. People actively make purchasing decisions based on how companies are protecting the environment. As a result, you can bring the use of sustainable packaging materials and methods to market to attract more customers.
Many of the materials used are biodegradable – many sustainable packaging items are broken down or recycled into different materials. As a result, your customers can repurpose or recycle packaging for their own benefit, or eliminate many of the guilt that comes with throwing away so much trash. Your business can also benefit by recycling leftover or returned packaging to sell elsewhere or reuse for your own business.
The future is green – although following the crowd is not always a good idea, sustainable packaging seems to be the new trend. Just as people once thought free shipping was an expensive and tedious job, that mindset has changed. You can benefit from this trend by adopting early, rather than sticking to sustainable packaging for economic reasons. At this point it may be too late.
How to transition to sustainable packaging for online stores
Moving from conventional shipping materials to sustainable packaging can seem daunting and can be costly. However, it doesn't have to be that way, especially with guidance on how to make the transition as smooth as possible. Read below for the best steps and tips for switching to green shipping materials.
1. Take your time
It's easy to get excited about changing to a sustainable shipping method, especially if you find that you've been using sub-par packaging materials in the past and find that customers are keen to seek a change.
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