Green initiatives used to be quite new in the business world. Several years ago, going green was something only niche or forward-thinking companies promoted. Today, however, sustainable practices in companies is not a good thing to do, but is becoming more and more the standard.
Various organizations are calling for more and more collective ecological efforts to sustain the planet. Since we only have one habitable planet, we must all play our part in preserving the environment.
To this end, in all commercial activity, and even more so in electronic commerce, an important action that can be taken is the use of sustainable packaging.
What is sustainable packaging?
In short, sustainable packaging is ecological and does not contribute to the depletion of natural resources.
According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), the eight criteria for packaging to be considered sustainable are:
- It is beneficial, safe and healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle.
- Meets market criteria for performance and cost.
- It is obtained, manufactured, transported and recycled using renewable energy.
- Optimize the use of renewable or recycled materials.
- It is manufactured using clean production technologies and good practices.
- They are made with healthy materials throughout their life cycle.
- They are physically designed to optimize materials and energy.
- It is effectively recycled and reused in closed-loop biological and/or industrial cycles.
Advantages of sustainable packaging
The main advantages of sustainable packaging are:
- Being more sustainable can help you acquire more customers and increase their loyalty.
- Reducing packaging materials and minimizing waste are two major components of sustainable packaging.
- When the former is implemented correctly, it leads to more efficient storage, limiting the space required for storage.
- By reducing the size of packages by making them more sustainable, shipping costs are also reduced.
Sustainable packaging strategies
These are some of the strategies and innovations to carry out in order to be more ecological in packaging:
- Educate on good disposal and recycling practices.
- Use smaller packages for shipping.
- Use recycled materials.
- Plant-based packaging.
- Edible packaging.
- Plantable packaging.
- Compostable and biodegradable plastic alternatives.
- Avoid over-packaging in the supply chain.
- Use manufacturing partners with sustainable practices.
Fountain: BigCommerce