Recyclable plastic has been around for a while, and for good reason. Recyclable plastic packaging is durable and lightweight; however, it does come with a high carbon footprint compared to others on our list.
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Some of the most commonly recycled plastics are:
-Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET):
This type of thermoplastic polymer resin is used to create fibers for clothing, food and liquid containers, and thermoforming for manufacturing. This is because PET is an inert material that is recognized by health authorities as a safe plastic. Like glass, PET is hygienic and generally resistant to bacteria and other microorganisms.
You&#;ll find PET in your plastic food containers, plastic water bottles, and in clothes and textiles made of recycled plastic.
-Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET):
rPET is made from recycled and reprocessed PET plastic to make something new. The best thing about rPET is that it&#;s 100% recyclable, meaning that it can be reintroduced into the loop many times, decreasing the need for resource extraction and drastically reducing carbon footprint. The process of sorting, washing, and flaking reused PET to make new rPET requires much less energy (75% less) than creating virgin plastic.
Not only is rPET used to make new plastic bottles, but it can also be found in many different products such as activewear, outdoor gear, bedding, pet beds, and even stuffing for toys. Anything made of polyester can include recycled PET.
&#;Polypropylene (PP):
Another type of safe thermoplastics is PP Plastic. This type of recyclable plastic is approved by the FDA to be used in food containers, so you&#;ll find it in many applications, including packaging for food products, detergents, and other consumer goods. PP is also used to create automotive plastic parts and textiles.
Compostable packages, also known as bioplastics, are made from natural materials, such as sugar cane and corn starch, that break down and return to the earth without leaving behind traces of toxic chemicals&#;making it a sustainable option for businesses that reduces waste and saves money. Compostable packaging materials are available in paper, cardboard, and plant based plastics.
However, not all compostable packages can be added to your compost pile at home. Some products are suitable for home composting, while others need commercial composting.
Home Composting VS Commercial composting.
Home composting is a great option for disposing materials without harming the environment. However, not all organic material can be completely decomposed at home. Some compostable foodservice packages need commercial composting. Materials accepted at commercial sites typically require higher composting temperatures than what&#;s safe to add to home compost piles. Moreover, if the compost comes from a commercial composting site, it can be resold and used as fertilizer.
The most popular two types of compostable packaging are PLA and CPLA
-Polylactic acid (PLA):
Polylactic acid is a type of polyester made from plant starch from corn, sugarcane, maize, cassava, or sugar beet pulp. All of these renewable sources have one thing in common&#;sugar. The sugar from these plant-based sources is fermented and turned into lactic acid, which is later made into polylactic acid.
One of the main environmental advantages of PLA over plastic is its life cycle. Starting from the manufacturing process, the carbon emissions associated with PLA production are 80% lower than that of other plastics. PLA is also biodegradable, which means it can decompose into the earth without leaving behind any harmful chemicals.
However, since it&#;s biodegradable, PLA can deform when exposed to heat, which means it can&#;t be left in the sun, or used in a microwave, or exposed to any source of heat.
Along with being one of the most popular materials used in desktop 3D printing, PLA is also used in compost bags, food packaging, disposable tableware, and loose fill packaging. As a fiber, PLA is used for disposable clothing, upholstery, diapers, and feminine hygiene products.
-Crystallized Polylactic Acid (cPLA):
cPLA is processed by applying high pressure and heat to PLA, chalk, and other biodegradable additives. This causes the material to crystallize, creating a harder product that&#;s less susceptible to heat degradation than regular PLA.
cPLA is commonly found in the lids of the disposable coffee cups you grab every morning before heading to work.
Corrugated packaging is made from corrugated paperboard. It is a strong, lightweight, and durable material that&#;s widely used in the packaging industry. Corrugated packaging is 100% recyclable. It is also biodegradable and compostable, making it an excellent choice for eco friendly sustainable packaging.
Corrugated packaging, such as cardboard, has a high resistance to crushing and tearing, making it ideal option for shipping boxes to protects all types of products during transport.
Almost all items which are shipped to a business or customers, use this most commonly used format of eco friendly packaging.
Like all paper, kraft paper is made from wood pulp, which is a renewable natural resource. Its sustainability comes from its eco friendly production process.
Krafts paper widely used in packaging because its high tear-resistance, its light weight, and its nature-themed aesthetic.
High tear-resistance:
Kraft paper is by far the strongest paper material used in packaging. Kraft paper is treated with minimum chemicals to help reserve its durability and strength. That way, it results in higher tensile strength, and it is less likely to tear or fray. Thanks to its strength and durability, Kraft paper can be reused several times before recycling it.
Lightweight:
Kraft paper is not only famous for high tear-resistance, but it&#;s also lightweight and doesn&#;t take up much space, which makes it beneficial to keep the shipping costs down.
Nature-themed product packaging:
One of the unique characteristics of kraft paper is its natural-colored coarse texture. It makes kraft paper the perfect representative of the nature-themed product packaging for any businesses selling natural and organic products.
With increasing demands for different colors, kraft paper is bleached to get other shades of its natural brown color. The bleaching extent is adjusted to bring out the natural brown kraft paper, creamy kraft paper, and black kraft paper. Light colors indicate that more bleaching is involved and thus the surface will turn out smoother.
Generally, it is best to print a single color on kraft paper to emphasize the natural texture of this special paper material. However, the kraft paper color will differ from batch to batch due to the different material sources and different times of harvesting during different weathers.
Kraft papers usually come in the form of paper sheets to fill a carboard box and secure its contents, or as paper bags that come in all shapes and sizes depending on their intended use.
Tin
As a primary raw material in the packaging industry, tin is 100% recyclable and sustainable. it is malleable and could be process and returned to the production cycle without losing its quality. When processed, tin could be welded into corrosion-resistant tin cans and containers.
Steel
Stainless Steel are eco friendly containers because they producer less carbon emissions when they&#;re produced, and they have a long-life span since they could be reused multiple times. When it&#;s time to be replaced, stainless steel could be recycled to start a new lifecycle.
Additionally, Stainless steel food containers and bottles are toxin free and they&#;re save to use with hot foods and beverages, which gives them an edge over other types of eco friendly materials.
Aluminium
Aluminium is the most cost-effective material to recycle, since it uses only 5% of the energy needed to make it from raw materials. In addition, all the leftover scraps from the production process could be melted down and become reusable again and again. This is why aluminium is one of the best alternatives in the market for any single-use packaging solution.
Aluminium trays are perfect solution for storing and preserving all types of foods because aluminium provides a 100% water and gas resistance. Moreover, it&#;s corrosion resistant to substances in the pH range from 4 to 9.
Glass
Glass is made of 4 main ingredients: sand, soda ash, and limestone. Nonetheless, glass packages are 100% recyclable and can be endlessly recycled with no loss of quality. Glass jars, bottles, and other types of glass containers can all be reused or repurposed in a variety of ways
Consumers always have brilliant ideas to reuse glass containers, such as DIY crafts and projects, storage containers, a vase, a drinking glass, or a bottle to store your freshly squeezed orange juice.
Whichever way you reuse your glass containers, make sure you sanitize the glass between each use.
Bubble Wrap
Bubble wrap has always been an essential material for protecting fragile products while moving or delivering them. When their purpose is done, they could be stored and reused again! If the sheet is still in perfect condition, it could be used once more to move your fragile objects. But if it has takes a few hits, there are plenty of other ideas to reuse it. It could still be used to insulate your home or your plants, or line your grocery bag to protect any breakable or squishable goods. If all else fails, it&#;s a great way to relief your stress or entertain your children.
Glassine is a paper-like recyclable and compostable material made from wood pulp. It is FDA approved to come in contact with food, making it the best packaging choice for baked goods and confections. Glassine is also grease and moisture resistant, but not waterproof. That way it&#;ll keep your baked goods fresh and prevent moisture caused by condensation.
Mushroom Packaging is a 100% biodegradable and compostable packaging solution. Mushrooms can be grown in weeks with food wastes, which makes them a renewable source.
Mushroom packages are extremely strong and versatile. Manufacturers are now using it to create everything from containers, to insulation, to packing peanuts.
Green Cell Foam is a natural material. It&#;s made of non-GMO cornstarch, which leaves it with a 12-month lifecycle. Green cell foam is biodegradable, comostable, water-soluble, and dissolves in 1 minute when subjected to heat. All of which make it easy to decompose in moist soil in your backyard.
Green Cell Foam is used to package a wide variety of products, including electronics, aircraft parts, perishable foods, temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, and so much more.
Cellulose is a natural renewable resource derived from wood or plants. Because its natural, cellulose makes a great biodegradable and compostable material. As an F&B business, cellulose is the key to help your business go green. Cellulose packaging is strong, durable, and it can be printed to create custom packaging for your business.
One of the famous uses of cellulose packaging is cellulose coffee pods and cellophane. Cellophane is an oil and moisture resistance, clear, thin plastic-like material that is used to store and display food items. You&#;ll usually find nuts, baked goods, and other greasy foods wrapped in cellophane to help preserve them.
Seaweed is a natural renewable resource than can be grown in fresh or salt water and requires no additional media for growth. The nutrients and fibers in seaweed not only make it a great eco friendly packaging material, but it&#;s also used to explore innovative edible packaging options.
Seaweed packaging material is made from dried and shredded seaweed. It is biodegradable, recyclable, and can be reused for several times before needing replacement. Moreover, seaweed packaging material is also compostable and can be used as a soil amendment or mulch.
Seaweed is non-toxic, odorless, and does not leach chemicals into the food that&#;s wrapped in it. It is flexible, yet strong, making it ideal for wrapping delicate goods.
For the past few years, online sales have been heading up, up and up &#; with no signs of slowing down.
FTI Consulting predicts online sales of $525 billion this year &#; a 15.9% increase over last year. If you take out auto and gas sales, eCommerce now accounts for 13.2% of the U.S. retail sales market right now.
That is a lot of products, all nestled in a lot of packaging, being shipped throughout the country.
While online sales are convenient for consumers, and great for companies&#; bottom lines, all of that packaging is wreaking havoc with the environment.
Flip on the nightly news and you&#;re almost guaranteed to hear a story about how our wasteful ways are negatively impacting the environment &#; whether its plastic islands floating in the ocean, massive garbage barges with no home or an alarmingly changing climate.
Most of us are becoming increasingly eco-conscious and want to do our part to protect the planet.
Of course, we know we can&#;t do it alone and want the companies that we do business with to pay attention to our environmental concerns.
One way companies can stand out, is through making a concerted effort to deliver goods in eco-friendly packaging.
Your Packaging MattersIf you&#;ve been doing online sales for any length of time, you know that packaging is often the first impression you make with your customers.
People want to be wowed by that box that arrives on their doorstep.
It&#;s not just the item inside the box that counts. Consumers are looking at the whole unboxing experience and they have high expectations.
In fact, a Harris poll found that 48% of consumers feel that packaging reflects the value of the shipment, and a Dotcom Distribution survey found that 40% of consumers are likely to make repeat purchases from online merchants that use premium packaging.
But effective custom packaging is more than just a beautiful presentation.
Consumers are looking for something else &#; namely a company that cares about the environment.
Need more evidence? Just check out these stats:
A Pro Carton study found that
75% of customers
stressed the desire to receive eco-friendly packaging.
Another study, by Forum for the Future, found that a whopping
90% of consumers would stop purchasing from a company
if they learned about irresponsible practices.
Bottom line? People want to order products online, but they don&#;t want to feel guilty about the packaging it comes in.
Nowadays, it&#;s essential to position yourself not only as a provider of superior products, but you also want to present yourself as a company that cares about the environment.
Why Your Company Needs To Be Eco-Friendly
You may not think that some styrofoam peanuts here, or some unnecessary packaging there, matters in the grand scheme of things. Right?
But think again. It all adds up, big time.
And this is not just someone else&#;s problem. Companies of all sizes need to do their part.
Let&#;s check out some stats to put it all in perspective:
But all is not lost. There are steps we can take that have a big impact:
Those are some sobering numbers.
So, you can see the need for all of us &#; both consumers and businesses &#; to become more conscious of packaging waste. The rate we&#;re currently going at is not sustainable, unless we all want to live atop giant landfills. No thanks.
And your customers are taking notice of these numbers.
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They aren&#;t going to be impressed with any company that is wasteful and blatantly disregards the health of the environment.
Online sales may be booming, but there&#;s a lot of competition out there. Consumers don&#;t have to buy from you, so don&#;t give them a reason not to.
Don&#;t underestimate the harm wasteful packaging can do to your bottom line. People talk and negative publicity is never good. No one wants to be on the receiving end of an irate blogger who is disgusted with your environmentally harmful practices.
These days people share everything on social media &#; including their packaging experiences. Believe it or not, eco-influencers are a thing, and you want to stay on their good side.
You certainly don&#;t want to have your company&#;s reputation attached to a nasty hashtag &#; such as #ExcessivePackaging or #PackagingFail &#; letting the world know how you don&#;t care about the environment. Having your brand attached to one of those hashtags is definitely something you want to stay away from.
Of course, social sharing isn&#;t all negative.
Companies can enjoy benefits by touting their eco-friendliness. That&#;s why it&#;s so important that, as a company, you let people know about your positive environmental efforts.
One study found that 14% of millennials switched to an eco-friendly product because of a friend&#;s social media post. Now, that&#;s something to take advantage of.
Taking simple steps to show your commitment to making the environment a priority can be a win-win situation.
Eco-Friendly Packaging SolutionsThe packaging waste numbers mentioned above may be depressing, but don&#;t despair.
There are many easy-to-implement packaging solutions that will make your company look like an eco-warrior with little effort or cost.
First off, you need to understand what constitutes eco-friendly packaging. You can start by asking yourself a few questions:
Is your packaging recyclable?
Is it made up of recycled material, such as kraft paper
Can people reuse your packaging?
Is your packaging biodegradable?
Are you using excessive packaging?
Fortunately, using eco-friendly packaging doesn&#;t have to be difficult &#; or expensive. Here are some tips to get you on your way:
Talk about an easy way to save money. Why waste money and resources on excessive packaging you don&#;t need? You want to use enough padding to cushion your goods, but don&#;t go overboard. Keep in mind that your customers don&#;t want to be stuck having to get rid of a box of unnecessary void fill.
Corrugated cardboard is the most recycled material in the world, so there is an easy recycling process in place. It just needs to be collected, compacted and then sent to a repulper to make new boxes.
There are a couple of drawbacks with recycling corrugated cardboard. It can&#;t have metal foil or wax on it or be grease-stained (sorry
pizza boxes
that means you). And don&#;t even think of tossing soggy boxes into the recycling bin. That&#;s a definite no-go.
When you hear &#;corrugated cardboard box,&#; words like boring and nondescript may spring to mind. But that&#;s not the case. There are plenty of options to infuse your unique style onto the
custom boxes
and get your brand front and center in a memorable way.
You can cover every side of the box with your brand colors and slogans, or simply stamp your logo on one side. Whatever you choose, there are many options at various price points to personalize an otherwise bland
corrugated box
.
Alright. I think we can all agree it&#;s time to ditch the styrofoam peanuts. Even someone with a cursory understanding of environmental issues knows these are no good &#; especially since there are so many alternatives that can protect your goods at least as well.
If you&#;re attached to the peanuts, go for the biodegradable variety. Your customers and the earth will thank you since they are so easy to dispose of. Starch-based peanuts will dissolve in water so are super-easy to get rid of.
Other eco-friendly void fill that will protect your items in transit include Geami paper (an alternative to bubble wrap that&#;s 100% recyclable), biodegradable burlap bags, tissue paper, and shredded colorful recyclable paper. You can even use biodegradable cord, as an alternative to twine.
Dwelling on all of the discarded boxes and bags is a depressing thought.
Fortunately, many companies are making an effort to implement environmentally conscious policies &#; including with their packaging. And they&#;re getting a favorable response from their customers.
Let&#;s take a look at five companies that are going out of their way to use responsible and sustainable ways to get their products safely to us:
Pink Boutique is an online British retailer of glamorous partywear at affordable prices. The shop ships out 2,000 garments from its warehouse daily. That&#;s a lot of packaging that could potentially languish in landfills.
But Pink Boutique is not down with that.
So, in an effort to be more eco-conscious, they switched from using polythene mailing bags to ones made from sugarcane. The sugarcane bags are 100% recyclable. And as an added bonus, sugarcane requires little water to grow, and the crop even absorbs carbon dioxide.
The new bags coincided with a rebranding scheme for Pink Boutique, so the timing was perfect. The stylish new bags are printed with the slogan, &#;Give me some sugar,&#; which ties in nicely with the company&#;s vibe.
The tech sector isn&#;t always known for its great treatment of the environment, but Dell is one computer company that&#;s making sustainable practices a priority.
In an effort to prioritize eco-friendly packaging, Dell has what it calls its 3Cs packaging strategy that focuses on the cube (size and shape), the content (material choice) and the curb (recyclability).
Dell is constantly working to reduce its box sizes, which cuts down on waste and means they can fit more boxes on a pallet. When possible, they use materials that are locally available.
Dell also thinks way outside the box.
In , they were the first to use packaging made from bamboo. Anyone who&#;s ever planted this vigorous plant knows it&#;s a rapid grower. In , they started using mushroom packaging, which effectively cushions items and is compostable.
Now, Dell&#;s looking at ways to use waste material, such as ocean-bound plastics in their packaging scheme.
Overall, more than 95% (by weight) of Dell&#;s packaging is now made from sustainably sourced materials and is recyclable or compostable. Not bad!
True Botanicals is a skincare company that prides itself on only using natural ingredients that are nontoxic to humans and the environment. So it comes as little surprise that their customers expect the company to implement eco-friendly packaging.
As a testament of their commitment to the environment, True Botanicals uses glass bottles for all of their products, which is so much better for the environment than the single-use plastics that are filling our oceans and harming marine life.
They tout the benefits of glass on their website, such as glass is 100% recyclable, and doesn&#;t have harmful chemicals like BPA that&#;s found in some plastics.
Okay. We should all, of course, be doing good things for the environment for its own sake. But why not get a little extra mileage from your environmental good deeds and enhance your brand reputation?
Go on, it&#;s ok to brag a little bit.
Don&#;t be afraid to tell your customers what actions you&#;re taking to protect the environment.
To further show their dedication to the environment, True Botanicals included their own eco story on their website.
Everyone loves a good story and a simple eco-story can make a brand more relatable. True Botanicals explains how, on a recent visit to Sri Lanka, the founder was shocked by the amount of plastic in the water and how she wanted to do her part.
Including an eco-story, such as this, is a nice touch because it shows a company&#;s commitment to the environment.
There&#;s no denying that Walmart is a major player as both a bricks and mortar store and an eCommerce goliath. Last year, Walmart&#;s global net sales amounted to a little over 480 billion U.S. dollars. Phew. That&#;s a lot of products &#; many of which will involve some sort of packaging. But Walmart is trying to do its part to try to shrink its environmental impact.
In an effort to be more green, Walmart came up with its own &#;Sustainable Packaging Playbook,&#; which helps its suppliers improve packaging sustainability. The playbook touts things like reducing the amount of material needed for packaging, taking out dangerous chemicals that might be used in packaging, and calls for an increase in using recycled and sustainably sourced renewable content.
Do you ever have a pile of packaging materials and wonder what you can recycle and what needs to go in the trash?
Well, you&#;re not alone. One study found that 67% of consumers would assume a package is not recyclable if it did not have a recycling symbol or language on it.
That&#;s not good. People want to do the right thing with recycling, but they need some guidance.
To get rid of any confusion, Walmart&#;s playbook acknowledges that communication is key and that sometimes people need things spelled out for them. It asks suppliers to encourage consumers to recycle by using easy to understand labeling. So, there are no excuses.
Of course, you can&#;t have a discussion about sustainable packaging without including the largest U.S. online retailer of them all. Yes, that would be Amazon.
In , Amazon was responsible for about 44% of all U.S. eCommerce sales. You probably can&#;t walk more than a couple of blocks without seeing the familiar smile-logo box on someone&#;s front porch.
In an effort to reduce waste and keep its customers happy, Amazon introduced its frustration-free packaging program in . For starters, Amazon concentrated on getting rid of excessive packaging. The packaging is also easy-to-open &#; no clamshells here &#; plus its 100% recyclable.
Since its inception, Amazon&#;s sustainable packaging initiatives have eliminated more than 244,000 tons of packaging materials, avoiding 500 million shipping boxes. In alone, Amazon&#;s programs have reduced packaging waste by 16%, avoiding 305 million shipping boxes.
Now, that&#;s some serious savings.
ConclusionWe&#;re all in this together &#; retailers and consumers.
Sure, we all love the anticipation and excitement of receiving packages. And businesses have to pay attention to their bottom line. But we have to balance these desires with environmental concerns.
As a start, businesses can do their part by eliminating wasteful packaging practices and looking for innovative packaging alternatives.
Consumers are increasingly paying attention to how eco-conscious businesses are, so companies with eco-friendly policies will get noticed, and will reap positive rewards.
It may seem like a baby step, but paying attention to how goods are packaged will go a long way to cutting down on pollution, over deforestation, and slow the growth of our overflowing landfills.
After all, we have to keep in mind that we only have one planet to call home.
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