Thinking about switching to sustainable packaging? There is no better time than now. Consumers are placing a higher focus on eco-friendly packaging than ever before, pushing more product redesigns requiring new packaging.
Sustainable packaging is more than just good for your brand image. You can reduce your carbon footprint, eliminate toxins in your products, save on shipping costs and please more people to build a bigger audience. Discover more about the advantages of switching to sustainable packaging below.
Table of Contents
- Benefits of Using Sustainable Packaging
- Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
- Appeal to Consumers
- Save on Shipping Costs
- Make Disposal & Product Opening Easier for Your End User
- Gain Versatile & Flexible Packaging
Benefits of Sustainable Packaging
More and more businesses are switching to biodegradable or recyclable packaging. Here’s why:
1. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
The scientific community has been warning the world of the Earth’s future if pollution levels continue at the rate they are today, and the packaging industry is well aware of their impact. For this reason, many companies are finding solutions in sustainable packaging.
To see the environmental impact of packaging, packaging’s carbon footprint can be calculated using three factors:
- The pollution created during the manufacturing process
- Transport
- The overall useful and residual lives of product packaging
Great Northern Fiber Interior Packaging™ is the ideal solution for reducing your carbon footprint. Fiber packaging is biodegradable and 100% recyclable curbside. It’s created using molded pulp made from used corrugated cardboard and newsprint. With this packaging’s molded structure, all your product needs to be protected is fiber interior packaging and an external box. This cuts out packaging pollution from any plastic air packets or unnecessary paper stuffing.
2. Appeal to Consumers
Over the past few years, sustainability has pushed forward as a global concern — by consumers and regulators. People are becoming more conscious about their impact on the environment. As the carbon footprint calculator circulates the internet through classes, social media and news articles, more people are interested in seeing their individual impact.
When individuals assess their individual impact on the environment, they’re encouraged to make a conscious effort to be environmentally friendly. This often means a sudden brand change at the grocery store to daily items that offer sustainable packaging. It can even go more in-depth, with people shopping online and performing adequate research to ensure they buy from companies that pride themselves on being environmentally conscious in their products and packaging.
More than half of U.S. consumers are highly concerned about the environmental impact of packaging. If you ask consumers what they want to see going forward, they are almost all equally interested in fiber-based substitutes and recyclable or recycled plastic packaging. When companies focus on the sustainability of their packaging, they also expand their customer base and reputation among consumers who deeply care about sustainability.
3. Save on Shipping Costs
Product packaging can be an additional burden when releasing a new product. You have to plan exterior and interior packaging design, production and other logistics. Shipping out packages can also be a costly investment, depending on the weight and size of your packaging.
By designing your product packaging to be the most sustainable, your box’s dimensions will be designed around the product and the interior packaging of your choice. When using molded pulp, the paper fibers are molded to specifically fit your product and to protect it best. The inserts are also designed to fit perfectly into your packaging so no excess packing products are needed.
You’ll also save on shipping costs when it comes to weight. Biodegradable packaging tends to be more lightweight than other competing interior packaging. This makes fiber interior packaging one of the best sustainable shipping solutions. One major benefit of molded pulp packaging against other types of interior packaging is how compact it is. Since fiber interior packaging is molded specifically for your product, you can nest the packing material in storage until you’re ready to ship your products.
4. Make Disposal and Product Opening Easier
Sustainable packaging tends to be lighter, smaller and, most importantly, compostable or recyclable. Rather than including too many elements in packaging, sustainable packaging focuses on including only necessary components.
When products finally arrive to their final consumers, they can easily dispose of the packaging they don’t need. They don’t need to fill their trash bag with plastics. Instead, they can throw the packaging into their cardboard recycling bin.
Sustainable packaging also creates a better experience for the consumer. With fewer elements like metal twists and plastic pulls, sustainable packaging is more accessible for those who have difficulties opening complicated, wasteful packages.
5. Gain Versatile and Flexible Packaging
Sustainable packaging is often misconceived as just being a plain cardboard box with a product sitting inside. In reality, sustainable packaging is much more versatile and flexible.
Some of the most luxurious brands are using sustainable packaging to promote their products and enhance their customer experience. With less waste and a well-thought-out packaging design, these boxes are more than just a means to deliver a product. They improve your brand image.
Any industry can use eco-friendly packaging no matter the size of its product. There are many different types of sustainable packaging, such as corrugated cardboard, compostable mailers, bioplastics and biodegradable fiber packaging.
Get 100% Recyclable Packaging From Great Northern Fiber Interior Packaging™
Sustainable packaging can reduce your carbon footprint through every stage of a product package’s lifecycle. It can also appeal to users, attract new customers and amp up your brand image. Eco-friendly packaging can help save you money in shipping costs and, overall, benefits the environment and human health by eliminating toxins found in typical plastic packaging.
When you’re looking to protect your product, Great Northern Fiber Interior Packaging can create custom interior packaging for your product, made from molded pulp to optimize your interior packaging, warehouse storage and customer experience. If you’re interested in switching to eco-friendly packaging, give us a call at 800.925.2626, or contact us about our biodegradable packing solutions.
