Sustainable practices and objectives within companies have long been a part of the equation. But now more than ever, consumers are making intentional efforts to seek out products that utilize sustainable packaging and environmentally friendly practices.
This is why your company needs to embrace sustainability and find ways throughout its processes to be more energy efficient. In this blog, we’ll highlight the materials and steps you can take to emphasize eco-friendly practices.
The Environmental Impact Of Conventional Packaging
Packaging and containers make up a significant portion of the waste going to landfills with 82.2 million tons produced in 2018. Even with 53% of packaging being sustainable, there’s still a major divide between what packaging is being used and what packaging is sustainable.
Packaging that uses single-use plastic is also an issue because they aren’t biodegradable and will contaminate the environment once thrown away. When packaging or products sit in landfills, they contribute to the much bigger problem of greenhouse gas emissions. The most notable ones are Carbon Dioxide and Methane.
What Is Sustainable Packaging?
Quite simply, sustainable packaging is packaging that has the smallest possible amount of impact on the environment. Although the definition is simple, the act of incorporating sustainable packaging in your logistics is much harder to achieve.
Packaging comes in quite a few different varieties including bags, cans, and boxes. Within these packaging types, there are ways to make each product more sustainable. From Jay Group’s standpoint, this can be done through the packages and reusable products we use in each warehouse.
Sustainable practices do more than help the present ecosystems. It ensures a conscious effort to create a positive influence for future generations.
The Life Cycle Of A Package
From the extraction of materials to a package’s end-of-life management, there are steps to take in order to make the life cycle more sustainable. At Jay Group, we focus on the distribution of products and make conscious efforts to be more efficient and reduce plastic in our fulfillment warehouse.
As we’ll discuss later in this blog, a product packaged in too large a box or bag is not only clunky for the consumer, but it also wastes materials and is ultimately not sustainable.
Materials To Enhance Your Sustainability Objectives
Materials such as corrugated cardboard, kraft paper, and recycled plastics are all great choices for packaging that help promote a healthier environment. More than likely, these materials were once something else and are recycled into sustainable packaging.
Also, you should look for biodegradable materials so if they are thrown out, they won’t leave a lasting negative impact on the Earth. Rubber, polymer, glass, and certain plastics are all non-biodegradable and will last longer in a landfill than other options.
There are many pros to this type of packaging, aside from the environmental benefits. A majority of green packaging is cost-effective and can be customized to match your branding. When companies regularly use recycled plastic bags, it also creates a great image and reputation for your brand.
Consumers Are Looking For Green Packaging
Sustainability has always been a piece of the puzzle and a thought in consumers’ minds. However, we are getting to a point where sustainable objectives and green packaging are starting to become major purchasing decisions for consumers.
Especially in younger generations, who will soon have the most purchasing power, humanity, and sustainability are the top highlights they’re looking for. This is why green packaging is a great way to make it known your company is working toward positive sustainability objectives.
In the last five years, there has been a 71% increase in online searches for sustainable goods and products. If a customer trusts your brand and recognizes you’re taking strides toward sustainability, they’re more likely to choose your products over others.
Not only is sustainable packaging a consideration for consumers, but they’re also willing to pay more for products that incorporate green practices into their brand. And when brands aren’t working toward environmentally-friendly practices, consumers question and become more aware of the negative impact.
Steps That Increase Sustainable Practices
Completely transforming your packaging will not happen overnight but there are programs and steps you can take internally that will help make sustainable packaging and practices a realistic goal.
#1 Green Returns
Another way to look at green packaging is to consider the effects of when a product needs to be returned. The fact is that online orders are more likely to be returned than in-store purchases. When returns are initiated, it not only hurts your profits but also returned products typically end up in a landfill and hurt the environment.
Different options within green returns can make your company more sustainable.
- Return-less Refund Policy. If it’s a smaller item being returned, you can initiate a refund without getting the product back. This can improve customer satisfaction because they don’t have to deal with shipping the product back and can keep the product out of landfills.
- Branded Seconds Initiative or Pre-Love Programs. It’s likely that returned products will go through some wear and tear and can’t be resold at full price. However, initiating a branded seconds program means you can take the returned products and resell them at a lower price.
- Donated Returned Items. Another option is to partner with a charity like food pantries or women’s shelters to donate returned items. As we’ve mentioned these practices make a great impression on consumers to emphasize your efforts in sustainability.
Our team at Jay Group can simplify the return process for your brand, whether you’re looking to reduce costs through returns or make a positive impact on the environment.
#2. Choosing The Right-Sized Box
Choosing the right materials for your order fulfillment packaging can help reduce waste and increase your customers’ experience and satisfaction. When boxes are too big, it raises costs for you and negatively impacts your company’s carbon footprint.
From material usage to production and shipping, the right-sized box can reduce costs across the board. This also means that across each step, you can minimize your carbon footprint.
A lot of companies suffer from mass-ordering large boxes so there’s less variability when it’s time to ship the product. This means that boxes aren’t the proper size and there’s a need for more stuffing within the box.
Especially in the realm of eCommerce, the procurement and shipping process is more complex than a traditional brick-and-mortar purchase. When there are more touchpoints, there’s a higher chance of damage. This is why it’s important for your company and for the environment to choose the right size for your packages.
#3. Eliminate Single-Use Expendable Packaging
Expendable packaging is materials that are intended for single-use or one-way shipping. A common expendable package example is what products your 3PL uses to get your products to different locations of the warehouse.
Wooden pallets are an example of expendable packaging, and while they may seem like a good choice because of their initial low costs, they’re only good for the environment if they’re sourced from a sustainably managed forest. A more sustainable choice would also be recycled plastic pallets.
Products such as bubble wrap, foam peanuts, or plastic bags are all single-use products and can be replaced with sustainable products. These include recycled paper, biodegradable paper, cardboard, or even mushroom-based packaging.
At Jay Group, we’ve initiated sustainable packaging by replacing plastic shrink-wrap, a single-use packaging supply, with giant rubber bands. The rubber bands are more expendable and reusable.
Labels and tags are another piece of your packaging and can be adjusted to be more eco-friendly. You can use cardstock for labels and product tags and eco-friendly printing methods such as water-based inks to reduce your carbon footprint.
In a warehouse and packaging space, you’re using a lot of tape. To reduce your use of plastic tape, we recommend switching to kraft paper tape or wet paper tape.
When choosing sustainably expendable packaging consider the long-term costs. Although recycled materials may cost more upfront, they will last longer and provide a higher return on investment.
Reusable products also emphasize consistency for automated systems. With wooden pallets or single-use products, you risk having something different each time. Whether that’s a different size, material, or a single-use product being damaged.
You’ll find that reusable products help increase efficiency both for your fulfillment process and for the environment.
Initiate environmentally friendly practices by incorporating sustainable packaging into your business. Partner with a 3PL that knows how to reduce waste and your carbon footprint.
