We’re living in a world where you have to be sustainable. Many businesses are taking the plunge and providing eco-friendly practices that bolster a better, greener sort of footprint. When you’re looking at the packaging world, plenty of businesses make choices along with tradeoffs that allow them to grow. There are tons of strategies that are successful, and they promote this type of packaging, which aligns with the sustainability in your mind. Here, we’ll go over the sustainable strategies that do work.
Packaging Material Locations
One big thing is where it comes from. Even when the packaging seems to be sustainable, it’s negated if you have a packaging provider that’s far out. You want to make sur that you don’t eat up the costs and any problems, as this can cause a negative footprint that impacts the goals for sustainability. It’s also far easier to get someone that’s closer to you, so getting a local source is better for this.
Packaging amount
You want to use the correct amount of packaging. Getting rid of any frills or anything that’s added and doesn’t bring value to the product is integral. With a lot of competition happening everywhere, businesses will get creative with the packaging that they offer. This lets them stand out, and also will help with making it easier for the packaging to be sustainable. Using too much doesn’t look good these days, and customers will mention this. Preserving the world around you is something worth focusing on, so make sure you’re only using what’s absolutely needed for packaging.
Container Size
Shrinking the packaging in order to fit into smaller container sizes is good for shipping costs, and also reduces the amount of materials that you use.
You can also get more customized packaging that fits the product, catering to the sizes that are there
If the business model requires it, you can also use packaging that’s standardized so you only need a few box sizes. If you can do this, it also will save you money and look better too.
Mixing Materials
It’s not something that you should do for your final packaging. For instance, plastic and paper shouldn’t be mixed, since they won’t be easy to recycle.
If there are different materials that are put together, you won’t be able to separate them for packaging and recycling.
So, choose one or the other. Corrugated packaging is totally recyclable, and provided you use eco-friendly links and tape, you’ll be able to create a sustainable solution.
Less Virgin Pulp
You want to make sure that you use virgin pulp less. Virgin pulp is done by cutting new trees down. This is actually not good for packaging and ends up creating a problem down the line. Packaging materials that come from recycled materials is actually way better. Try to go for these, as they can offer a better result.
Avoid the Instances of Over Packaging
You want to make sure that you don’t put too much in a bag. This is during the manufacturing, or even the retail step. There are tons of touch points, and you want to make sure that you don’t have too much in a container.
You should make sure that if you’re going to put multiple things together they won’t be messed up by doing so. Be mindful of the types of packaging that you offer, and from there, create sustainable, easy solutions that’ll impact every aspect that you have.
Try this, and you’ll see great results in the packaging that you have to create a sustainable, better future. n