It’s a common belief that plastic is a recyclable material. And, for the most part, it’s true. However, it doesn’t mean that most of the plastic gets recycled. Because it’s not. In Europe alone, approximately 70% of the recyclable plastic winds up in the ocean or a landfill.
Another problem with non-environment-friendly packaging is the cost of the product and the manufacturing process itself. To create plastic, you have to refine crude oil and the process is quite harmful. Because of the slow degradation of plastic (over hundreds of years) it continues to release toxic substances in the air such as BPA.
Not only does it disrupt the hormonal system of animals but humans alike. So, what’s the solution? The answer lies in eco-friendly and flexible product packaging materials.
What is Eco-friendly Packaging?
As per the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, certain rules must be followed before a material or product package could be qualified as sustainable or eco-friendly.
• The packaging material must be safe, beneficial, and healthy for both the communities and individuals through its entire life cycle
• Must meet market criteria for cost and performance
• Must be transported, manufactured, sourced, and recycled with the help of renewable energy.
• It should optimize the use of recycled and renewable source materials.
• Manufacturing should involve best practices and clean production technologies.
• Uses non-toxic material through the life cycle.
• Helps optimize energy and materials.
Essentially, the packaging should be biodegradable and made from organic eco-friendly material that could either be recycled or reused.
Benefits of Eco-Friendly Packaging
Toxin & Allergen Free
Conventional packing uses chemical-laden and synthetic material. These are harmful to everyone including manufactures, consumers; not to mention the earth. Biodegradable packaging, on the other hand, specifically uses non-toxic materials that are mostly allergen-free.
Although the options for biodegradable materials are limited, whatever little options we do have are more than enough to initiate the transition. Most of the options use the same machines that traditional materials use. That means, there should not be added overhead cost to implementation and transition to eco-friendly packaging practices.
Reduces Carbon Footprints
All human activities (especially industrial and manufacturing-related) release greenhouse gases in humongous amounts. This is what we call carbon footprint. And companies are growing increasingly concerned with reducing their carbon footprint to ensure a sustainable future and a habitable earth.
A typical product life cycle of creating packaging products has myriad phases. It starts with extracting materials, to production, transportation, and end of usage. With each phase, a certain carbon is released into the environment.
With eco-friendly packaging, though, the process is different. There’s minimal carbon emission during pre and post-production. Plus, the use of highly recyclable material further reduces the need for heavy-energy resources to get rid of or recycle them.
Versatile Packaging
Another promising aspect of eco-friendly packaging is how versatile it is. You can reuse and repurpose the material across major industries that use standard packaging. What that means, the possibilities for material usage are plenty compared to conventional materials.
Not only is traditional packaging harmful to the environment, but it also has fewer options in terms of creativity in package design. With the eco-friendly material, you can let your creativity run wild in terms of forms and design to go with. Plus, most eco-friendly items are great for storing food products without posting any health repercussions.
Materials are Biodegradable
Being biodegradable means that living organisms and bacteria would decompose the substance/material naturally. Cornstarch, wood, cardboard, and paper are a few materials that can degrade naturally unlike plastic.
Fun fact – every single plastic item ever produced on the earth is still in existence. That amounts to around 8.3 billion tons of plastic on earth. Being biodegradable means the earth will not face such a heavy impact as it does with plastic.
Easily Disposable
If there’s a compost facility near the customer’s house, then the packaging waste can be turned into compost. Alternatively, if the packaging carries the ‘recyclable packaging’ logo, the consumer could simply throw it in a recycling bin. After which it can be reused.
Easy to Recycle and Reuse
The thing that makes certain products eco-friendly is that they are easy to recycle and reuse. Reuse means the extended lifespan of the material. The more you can reuse something; the lesser need for procuring newer materials. This is another way to lower the carbon footprint and do the planet a favor. The packaging can be used for arts and crafts, storage, and some other form of packaging.
It Shows That You’re a Responsible Brand
As of right now, you don’t find a whole lot of eco-friendly products on supermarket aisles. But, as consumers become more educated about environmental issues there’s a growing demand for eco-friendly products.
As a business, this could be an excellent strategy to build yourself as a trustable and responsible brand. Using quality and eco-friendly material shows that you care about the environment and not just the business bottom line. Customers appreciate such effort and like to associate with businesses that follow green practices.
Reduces Shipping Costs
Most eco-friendly products weigh less. Therefore, the total shipping and transport costs are generally way less than that for plastic packaging, etc. In the grand scheme of things, businesses can save a ton on shipping costs and use it for other business operations.
In Conclusion
With more educated and responsible customers, it’s time for businesses to embrace the trend and give people what they want. Now is the best time to go green.
Alice is a content writer and publisher at SigmaQ which provides packaging and displays to create a memorable experience with your brand. She is an expert writer who writes on different categories based on packaging by providing a variety of tips and solutions for their business. Her mission is to create sustainable solutions for lasting business and empower the packaging industry. Her writings are not only descriptive but also meaningful.
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