You can hardly pick up a newspaper, browse the Internet, or watch TV without running into some alarming information about the negative impact of industry on the global environment. Much of this impact stems directly from the production and use of traditionally non-recycled materials.
For instance, the worldwide consumption of plastic has gone up from a mere 5 million tons in the 1950s to a shocking 100 million tons today (with much of that plastic going into the creation of 5 trillion plastic bags per year). The industrial processes needed to create these materials yields massive amounts of air and water pollution while consuming wasteful amounts of energy.
As the world population continues to rise dramatically, sustainability becomes more and more important. If you own, operate, or manage a business that sells packaged products, you need to invest in sustainable packaging strategies. Let’s look at how sustainable packaging benefits both your business and your customers.
What is Sustainable Packaging?
Put simply, sustainable packaging involves the production and use of packaging that makes the most of its materials, offering maximum value for minimal energy expenditure and landfill impact.
The most obvious example is the use of recycled or recyclable materials that reduce the demand for precious petroleum and the production of harmful greenhouse gases. Packaging that is used by the consumer more than once before it gets thrown away also counts toward overall sustainability.
“Reduce, reuse, and recycle” is the mantra of sustainability. The reliance on recycled raw materials is just one piece of this puzzle. Sustainable practices include the streamlining of the production and supply chains so that these phases consume less fuel. They also involve the creation of what’s known as a circular economy — a packaging cycle in which the used, discarded packaging gets reprocessed into fresh “new” packaging on a regular basis.
How Do Consumers Perceive Sustainability?
The “green revolution” is most definitely in full swing as far as consumers are concerned. 37 percent of American consumers name sustainability as a priority for them when they’re choosing a given product or brand. If we look deeper into the demographics, we discover that 70 percent of Millennials (that most desirable segment of the consumer marketplace) consider sustainability a key factor in product selection and brand loyalty.
This shift in consumer consciousness has already prompted major changes from leading brands. Companies such as Target, REI, and HP have laid out comprehensive plans for reducing their carbon footprints.
A switch to sustainable packaging can play a huge part in the achievement of those goals — and this switch resonates with the public. One study found that 62 percent of consumers (and 74 percent of the aforementioned Millennials) prefer to buy from brands that use sustainable packaging. This trend is only going to continue, so you’d be wise to embrace it by making the switch yourself.
Key Advantages of Sustainable Packaging
There’s more to sustainability than attracting the right target market (although that’s certainly a big plus in its own right). Let’s take a look at some key ways your brand can benefit from adopting sustainable packaging as its new normal.
You’ll reduce your carbon footprint.
The industrial processes required to create packaging out of virgin materials releases unhealthy amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air. This pollution may aggravate the planet’s own natural greenhouse effect, potentially contributing to global warming. It also introduces toxins into the air we breathe.
If you care about these issues, sustainable packaging can help you do your bit to control them. Even the use of sustainable plastic instead of virgin plastic reduces the associated manufacturing carbon footprint by 60 percent.
You’ll save money.
Many businesses make the mistake of automatically assuming that sustainable materials cost more than non-sustainable ones, when in fact the reverse can prove true. Less energy expended to create packaging from scratch also means less money spent on that process, with the savings passed on to your company.
You’ll reduce shipping-related waste.
Flexible products that use less packaging weigh less, which means that you can ship more of them per truckload than you could with products encased in bulky, rigid packaging.
Additionally, the collapsible nature of flexible packaging means that you can stuff more packages together on a pallet, into a truck, and onto store shelves with each truckload. Fewer truckloads means fewer CO2 emissions and less waste of our finite fossil fuel supply.
You’ll have a new marketing edge.
If your competitors haven’t yet adopted sustainable packaging, your doing so automatically gives you something to crow about that those competitors can’t.
If your competitors have adopted sustainable packaging, that’s all the more reason for you to get onboard with it as soon as possible. Since we’ve established that many consumers like and prefer sustainable packaging, you can (and should) make your commitment to sustainability clear by promoting your use of this form of packaging in your brand’s marketing.
How to Transition Toward Sustainable Packaging
While you might find the idea of retooling your company’s packaging strategies and implementation an intimidating prospect, you don’t have to accomplish a complete transition overnight.
You can get there by adopting and maintaining certain sensible best practices that naturally complement and augment each other’s best qualities. Here are some important, productive changes that you can get started on right now.
Prefer flexible packaging over rigid packaging.
Flexible packaging offers many benefits that help you maximize efficiency (and thus sustainability).
For one thing, flexible materials bend or collapse to conform to their contents, ensuring that half of your package isn’t just containing empty air. Your unused packages will also lie perfectly flat until you need them, allowing you to devote less space to them. Less warehouse space means less energy required to light, heat, and cool that space.
Prefer post consumer recycled packaging.
A circular economy that depends entirely on consumers following the proper recycling protocols is asking for trouble.
Post consumer recycled (PCR) packaging eliminates that weakness in the chain because the plastic, paper, cardboard, or other materials have already been used and properly disposed of. This means that sustainability has been achieved even before the consumer opens, used, and disposes of the package.
Avoid over-packaging your products.
If you’ve ever struggled with the lengthy, messy, annoying process of opening multiple containers and fishing through handfuls of filler just to get to the product at the center of it all, you’re familiar with the problem of over-packaging.
To make matters worse, many of the materials involved in these packaging monstrosities feature non-recyclable substances. You can get away from this wasteful, non-sustainable practice simply by investing in packaging that offers suitable protection against oxygen, moisture, bacteria, and other spoilage threats.
The sustainable materials in many PCR packages can do this with flying colors, giving you two sustainability advantages in one.
Partner with a sustainable packaging supplier.
To get the most consistent results, you need to build a relationship with a packaging company that specializes in sustainable materials and methods.
Not only will you always get consistent quality, and good price breaks with volume orders — you’re also supporting an eco-conscious provider and helping sustainability gain ground in the business world. You can rest assured that the packaging you receive is the real thing, made of genuinely sustainable materials with no environment-threatening surprises.
Last but not least, your packaging partner will understand your specific needs and challenges, pointing you toward the right kind of packages to address these concerns. For example, if you sell beef jerky, your packaging partner can recommend pouches that provide the best barrier protection for long-term product freshness.
Why Choose Copious Bags for Your Sustainable Packaging Needs
Now that we’ve mentioned the benefits of going with sustainable packaging and partnering with a trusted supplier, all that’s left is to choose Copious Bags for your packaging needs. Our company offers stand up pouches in a variety of eco-friendly materials, from foil-lined kraft paper to recyclable poly bags.
Our products can protect against spoilage, stand unassisted on store shelves (thanks to their gusseted design), and flex in ways that make transportation and storage more efficient. They can even be reused by your consumers, thanks to their zippered tops, which can give them a whole second life as household containers for other goods.
Even if you weren’t interested in reducing your environmental impact, you’d still have plenty of reason to rely on Copious Bags. Our high-quality stand up bags look beautiful, show off your brand graphics nicely, and come in various sizes.
The more of our bags you order, the more you can save from our volume discounts. Once you’ve placed your order, we can get it to you within 4 days if you’re in the contiguous 48 states. Even our international orders arrive at their destinations within 1 to 3 weeks.
Yes, you can boost your business and support a healthy, resource-rich environment at the same time. All you have to do is commit to some changes, browse Copious Bags online catalog — and then start saving the world, one sustainable order at a time!
