“By eliminating entire layers of unnecessary
plastic, paper and boxes, you’ll often
save money. Take note, though, that taking
away too much can affect the safety of
the product during shipping.”
tricky terminology
Another way to increase the sustain-
ability of your product packaging is by
switching to new, more environmentally
friendly materials. This can be confusing
and overwhelming, however—terms like
biodegradable, compostable, bio-based,
recyclable, and recycled content are
often used interchangeably. As defined
by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition,
“biobased” simply indicates whether a
material is made of renewable natural
materials like trees, wheat or corn.
“Biodegradable” indicates that a
material that will naturally decompose
over long period of time; compostable
materials will decompose in in a shorter
amount of time, often in a matter of a
few months when placed into a
compost pile, says the University of
Illinois.
Post-consumer recycled (PCR)
materials are becoming increasingly
common in everyday consumer
materials. However, not all PCR materials
are themselves recyclable, nor are all of
them net positives on the environment.
According to the Sustainable Packaging
Coalition, “There are trade-offs with
every decision. For example, recycled
plastics tend to result in more water
consumption and recycled fiber often
results in greater greenhouse gas
emissions.” Yet, the upside of using PCR
materials to package your products can
be numerous: reduced material waste,
lower costs and beneficial PR exposure,
to name a few.
When it comes to increasing the
sustainability of your products’
packaging, be sure to talk to your
packaging partner about what they have
to offer; availability and costs of
particular bioplastics and PCR materials
can vary widely. And when you have
made a switch that results in a more
environmentally friendly product, be sure
to market it to your customers—the
more they know about your behind-the-
scenes efforts to go green, the better
your brand’s image will become. n
as defined by the sustainable Packaging coalition,
“biobased” simply indicates whether a material is made
of renewable natural materials like trees, wheat or corn.
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