In the United States alone, up to 60 million tons of packaging material is thrown away each year. Only a small percentage of that is recycled. The vast majority ends up in landfills where it can take up to hundreds of years to decompose. This is why it is so important for businesses to make sustainable changes to their packaging. Some of the biggest corporations like Nike, Apple, and Amazon have already started to make big changes in packaging sustainability.
Even though it seems like a big undertaking, it doesn't have to be hard to get started. We're going to be taking a look at three simple ways that you can start making your packaging more sustainable - starting today - with little extra effort or cost. Let's dive in!
#1 Replace Plastic with Paper
A key part of packaging sustainability is the lifecycle of the materials used. Is it a renewable resource? How long can it take for our materials to decompose if they aren't recycled? These are great questions to ask when deciding what materials to use in your business's packaging.
Although there are many eco-friendly alternatives, one of the simplest ways to make your packaging more sustainable is by replacing plastic with paper. Paper is a more eco-friendly material for a number of reasons:
It's more easily recyclable and more naturally biodegradable than plastic
It can be made from renewable resources like wood pulp and/or re-pulped recycled paper
It can be composted in industrial facilities, unlike most plastics
Even Amazon has began shifting it’s previously plastic based mailers to a paper-based recyclable alternative. With today’s engineering, it has become much easier to make this change without sacrificing protection for your goods.
#2 Make The Most Out of the Least
One of the best ways to reduce waste is to use less material. The best thing about using less material is that it means lower production costs and a smaller carbon footprint—it's a win-win situation!
Let's say you are looking for an effective way to package your new line of vegan cosmetics. You've done all the research and decided on what types of materials will work best with your products. After determining what type of packaging you will need to protect your products, start working through every piece and ask yourself where you can cut non-essential materials. It can be as simple as making your shipping box or bag one inch shorter. Or maybe it’s avoiding an extra sticker or label.
Nike recently has decided that a solution is redesigning the shoe box for the online retail marketplace resulting in what they call the ‘One Box’. It cuts their packaging waste in half!
Image courtesy of Nike
The key here is knowing what works best for YOU. Each company is going to have a different solution for this. What works for your products may not work for another product that is more fragile. This way customers that receive your product in your packaging can have confidence that you made the most out of the least. No wasted space. No unnecessary materials. Just perfectly calculated packaging.
#3 Avoid Laminates and Composites
If you’re looking to make your packaging more sustainable with minimal effort—but big impact—avoid laminates and composites. What are they? Laminates and composites are packaging materials made from added layers of bonded materials to achieve certain characteristics like gloss, spot UV and other printing techniques like that.
Laminates a challenge for sustainability because each layer may be made from different types of materials, making them difficult to recycle or source from recycled content. Additionally, the multiple layers may be comprised entirely of non-recyclable materials like plastic or paper with a plastic liner.
Removing composites and laminates allow paper products to instantly be more recyclable, biodegradable, and reusable. This easy technique can supercharge your packaging sustainability without having to change too much.
Sustainability is a Process
Although it may seem hard to find ways to make your packaging more sustainable, all you really need is a bit of creativity. By thinking outside - or often times inside - the box and looking for simple, tangible solutions that can be implemented now, businesses and consumers alike can significantly reduce the amount of waste coming from the product and consumer goods industries.
After reading this, we hope that you feel equipped with three new simple strategies to help guide your sustainability journey. There are plenty more small, simple changes that companies can make to decrease their waste.
If you’d like to learn about more sustainable packaging options, contact our team today. We’d love to help coach you along the way towards a more sustainable future.