All items, especially fragile ones, must be protected during shipping. While many businesses opt for traditional plastic packaging, plastic is known to have significant downsides for the environment. It contributes to landfill waste and pollution, taking centuries to break down.
Many businesses are switching to plastic packaging alternatives like molded fiber. Great Northern Fiber Interior Packaging™ offers sustainable packaging solutions to transport your products without harming the environment. Discover why your business should make the switch to eco-conscious packaging.
Drawbacks of Plastic Packaging
Plastic packaging — foams, honeycomb and bubble wrap — is known to be durable and versatile, but it is harmful to the environment and ecosystems. Production requires multi-step chemical processes and energy consumption, increasing your carbon footprint. This packaging can’t always be molded to the shape of your item.
At the end of its life, plastic packaging is difficult to recycle because different types of plastics have unique properties that make sorting hard, and it can contaminate other recyclables. Most of the time, plastic packaging ends up in landfills, where it slowly breaks down into microplastics and releases harmful chemicals into the soil.
When plastic packaging is not properly disposed of, it persists on land and in water as pollution. This plastic accounts for 40% of the world’s pollution, primarily from the United States, Europe and China. Plastic’s inherent durability allows it to persist in ecosystems and environments, where it is often consumed by animals.
Eco-Conscious Molded Fiber Packaging
Molded fiber packaging is made of recycled paper and natural fibers. It is suitable for transferring fragile items, from health oils to power tools to paint cans.
This innovative packaging solution is made by mixing and soaking the raw materials in water until the mixture turns into a pulp. It is formed into desired shapes with custom-designed mesh tools before being dried. Unevenness is pressed out, and excess material is trimmed, leaving you with a pulp mold that is quality-tested to protect your product.
When it is time to dispose of molded fiber packaging, it can be recycled in any paper or corrugated waste stream. The material is 100% recyclable, which is convenient for customers and allows the material to re-enter the supply chain.
If your molded pulp packaging ends up in a composting facility or landfill, it can naturally decompose without leaving harmful residues. Temperature, moisture and oxygen levels impact the speed at which it breaks down, but the natural process typically takes only a few months to complete. This prevents the packaging from contributing to overflowing landfills.
Benefits of Molded Fiber
For businesses looking to adopt greener packaging solutions, molded fiber is a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic packaging. It’s easy to use and offers reliable protection.
This innovative packaging solution offers many benefits for your business and the environment:
- Customizable: The pulp can be tailored to hold any product, even items that are unusually shaped. This precise fit can provide optimal protection during transit.
- Convenient: During storage, the molds can be nested together to save space. When it’s time to pack products in boxes, you simply place the bottom half of the mold, set the product inside of it and insert the top half of the mold.
- Cost-effective: It provides significant savings while shipping. You won’t need to account for extra protection like bubble wrap, which is an additional cost and takes up space. You can also save on labor costs thanks to the molded fiber packaging’s ease of use.
- Biodegradable: Molded fiber packaging does not contain microplastics and chemicals harmful to you or the planet. It typically breaks down in a few months, which makes it much more eco-friendly than plastic.
- Recyclable: Our products are made to be curbside recycled after use, along with your other paper-based products. Recycling the used packaging helps reduce waste in landfills.
Make the Switch to Biodegradable Packaging
The Fiber Interior Packaging team will work closely with you to design the best biodegradable packaging for your product. We offer standard and custom molds to ship your products and replace wasteful plastic packaging. Our solutions meet Amazon’s packaging standards and can be tested at our ISTA 6-certified lab.
We have a track record for providing sustainable packaging solutions that can protect almost any product. Want to see our eco-conscious packaging in action? You can explore our success stories to learn more and get inspired by other businesses that opt for better packaging.
Contact Fiber Interior Packaging
Protect products from damage with eco-conscious packaging. Fiber Interior Packaging can design and manufacture high-quality, molded fiber packaging for your business.
To get started and request a quote, submit our contact form or call 920.212.4132 today.