In response to the increasing environmental awareness, both large and small businesses have started using eco-friendly packaging. Reusable and recyclable plastic packaging such as cardboard boxes or poly mailers has quickly begun to replace plastic packaging, which is used once and then in garbage barges. Did you know that it can take a plastic bottle 450 years to decompose?
Since poisonous substances are released into the soil and air when plastic is exposed to sunlight, the bottle has the potential to harm marine life and significantly impact the ecosystem when it starts to decompose. Therefore, eco-friendly packaging can be the answer to, if not all, some of the environmental concerns that we might have.
If you are a business that uses packaging supplies regularly to ship your products, it may be time to look into your eco-friendly alternatives. To make the transition from normal plastic packaging supplies to eco-friendly shipping supplies easier for you, we have put together a guide on everything you need to know about eco-friendly packaging. Keep on reading to find out.
What is Eco-friendly packaging?
Before getting into eco-friendly packaging supplies, we must first understand what eco-friendly packaging is. Eco-friendly packaging is a term used to describe materials used for packaging that leave no carbon footprint and don’t cause environmental damage during the manufacturing, transporting, or packaging process.
Most of the packaging materials that come under the category of eco-friendly packaging are created from materials that are 100% recyclable, eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and made ethically. Packaging supplies can be considered eco-friendly if they check all the boxes below:
- Maximizes the utilization of natural resources or repurposed materials
- Matches or exceed performance and price standards in the market
- Requires the use of renewable energy throughout the supply chain process, from production, manufacturing, and delivery to the recycling process
- Is beneficial and secure for individuals and communities throughout its entire lifecycle
- Is produced with eco-friendly techniques and industry standard
- Is constructed using sustainable components during the whole life cycle
- The design focuses on optimizing energy and resources
Why Should You Switch To Eco-Friendly Packaging?
With the rising trend of eco-friendly packaging, many businesses might wonder why they should make the switch. Aside from the environmental benefits, going green may provide a business with several other benefits. Here are a few benefits of going green:
Fulfill Your Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a model of self-regulation where a firm focuses on supporting or participating in volunteer work or ethical business operations to promote societal goals. There is an array of advantages that a firm can enjoy by adopting CSR.
For example, if a firm focuses on adopting eco-friendly packaging supplies or donating some of its proceeds to a charitable initiative, it will have an advantage over competitors. These initiatives will help the firm set itself apart from similar businesses in the market and give customers a reason to support them.
Create a Positive Brand Image
Brand image may be defined as what customers perceive when they hear a company’s name. A company may develop a positive brand image in the market in front of active and potential clients by using eco-friendly packaging. When a customer sees on a company’s website or advert that they are actively trying to go green, it creates a soft spot in their heart for that firm.
A positive brand image can help establish consumer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. Consumers with a positive impression of your company are more inclined to promote your products or services to their friends and family.
Cut Back On Shipping Costs
Shipping costs can take a large chunk of your profits. So if you are tired of paying high shipping costs and are looking for low-cost ways to transport your products to customers effectively, eco-friendly packaging can be the solution to your concern. Sometimes companies ship small products in large shipping boxes because they don’t have many packaging choices.
This can take up a large space in the transport vehicle or your warehouse. Eco-friendly corrugated boxes, poly bags, or mailing boxes are a great way to ship small to large products as they come in various sizes and are extremely lightweight.
Doing so will help you maximize your storage space, ship your products much more efficiently and ship more packages in one container, helping you reduce the need to hire more vehicles.
Allergen and Toxin-Free
When selecting packaging, every business must consider if the container is safe for consumers and employees. Customers’ and employees’ safety must be a priority for every business, as, without them, the business would crumble.
If a client or employee has a dangerous allergic response or develops a health issue resulting from your packing, it might be the end of your business. One negative online review may destroy your company’s brand image and drive away potential clients.
Therefore, adopting allergen and toxin-free packaging is critical for every business to ensure smooth operation and avoid future concerns. Eco-friendly packaging is constructed of safe plant-based and recyclable materials that do not hold the potential to create an allergic reaction helping ensure customer and employee safety.
Versatile Packaging Design
Many individuals believe that eco-friendly packaging is boring. However, the truth is that they have not yet explored the market for eco-friendly packaging as it comes in various colors, shapes and designs capable of attracting customers.
You may also personalize eco-friendly packaging to make it more appealing, such as by changing the colors of your packaging or opting for something like colored mailing tubes, or a glamour poly mailer that matches the color of your logo. All you need to do is get creative, and you’ll have personalized, eco-friendly packaging that will help you differentiate your package from competitors and get an advantage over them.
How to Choose the Ideal Eco-Friendly Packaging for Your Business?
Since the need and demand for eco-friendly packaging have grown, so has the market for eco-friendly packaging supplies, with new types and designs appearing every other day. What works for one business in terms of packaging may not work for another; it all boils down to the type of product you are selling.
If you choose the wrong type of packaging for your products, it could end up in your products getting damaged or customers getting dissatisfied during the unboxing process. Here are some things to consider when selecting eco-friendly packaging to ensure you get the ideal packaging supplies:
- Availability:Some people overlook this factor. However, it is critical because if you select a package that is not widely available, you may have to wait months for it to be produced and switch packaging, which is never a good idea if your prior packing was doing well.
Therefore, always conduct market research and ensure that your packaging provider has boxes in bulk so that they can efficiently supply them to you whenever you run low on stock.
- Easy-to-use and pricing:If your packaging is difficult to handle, it may make your employees’ jobs more difficult and lengthen the time it takes to package and deliver them to clients. It can also lead to a poor unboxing experience since no one enjoys opening difficult-to-handle packages.
Therefore, when selecting your packaging, make sure it is easy to use for both staff and consumers. Furthermore, examine the cost to ensure you do not exceed the budget. To do so, create a list of packaging suppliers that interest you and compare their prices to determine which one best suits your needs and budget.
- Durability: The packaging suppliesyou use to transport your items to clients determine your product’s safety. Therefore, you must ensure that the shipping boxes or other packing packages you select can keep your product secure. To do so, you have to consider the weight of your product.
If your product is heavy, a standard shipping box may not be adequate, and you will need to invest in heavy-duty shipping boxes to help keep your product safe during the shipping and handling procedure.
Furthermore, if your product is a delicate piece of jewelry, putting it in a huge shipping box may not be a smart option; instead, using jewelry boxes, small bubble mailers, or padded envelopes may be the best way to go.
Ideas for Eco-Friendly Packaging
Now that you know what to consider before selecting packaging, we have compiled a list of ideas for eco-friendly packaging to help you choose the ideal packaging supplies for your business.
Protect Your Products with Kraft Paper
Kraft paper is created from 100% recycled content, making it an essential component for firms pursuing a green strategy. It is a versatile item that can be used for various packing reasons. You may buy different kraft paper rolls based on the size of your product and wrap them in them before placing them in shipping boxes.
This will allow you to add an extra layer of protection. Furthermore, it may add aesthetic appeal to your packing by adding stickers or labels on the kraft paper or wrapping it with jute rope to make it appear as though you put effort into the package.
Moreover, kraft paper makes for great void fill and can help keep your product in one place inside the package during the shipping and handling process.
Experiment with Cardboard Boxes and Corrugated Mailers
You can never go wrong with cardboard boxes and mailers because they are available in various sizes and shapes. If you sell many different items, we recommend purchasing packing boxes and mailers in various shapes and sizes to accommodate them. For example, if your business sells books or deals with documents, you can invest in literature mailers or one-piece book folds.
Furthermore, if you are a moving company that has to transport big furniture, you might invest in various sizes of large boxes. Here are a few other types of mailers and corrugated cardboard boxes you can consider buying, along with examples of the types of products that would be ideal for shipping in them:
- Bubble mailerand bubble bags: Bubble mailers and bubble bags are great for shipping small and fragile items. Bubble mailers have a special bubble lining, and bubble bags are made of special bubble material, which provides cushioning to the items inside. You can use these shipping solutions to efficiently ship small, fragile items like jewelry or decor items.
- Clothing boxes: Clothing boxesare exactly what the title suggests and can be used to ship clothing items effectively. Clothing boxes will keep the clothing from getting dusty or damaged during shipping.
- Bakery boxes: If you own a bakery, you may need various shapes and sizes of bakery boxes to ship items like pastries, brownies, and cakes. You can also personalize bakery boxesby printing your logo on them. Bakery boxes will help to ensure that the contents inside remain secure and reach the customers in good condition.
Furthermore, eco-friendly bakery boxes will help ensure that the food inside remains safe and does not come into contact with any harmful toxins usually found in non-eco-friendly packaging.
- Side loading mailers: Side-loadingmailers can be used to ship various flat items, such as books or artwork. Furthermore, they make excellent shipping boxes if you are short on space since you can stack them on top of each other and save a lot of space.
- Long shipping boxes: Long shipping boxesare perfect for shipping items that are irregularly shaped, long, or narrow, such as mops, curtain rods, and umbrellas, which may not fit in conventional shipping boxes.
Try Out Mailing Tubes for Prints
Aside from long shipping boxes, a mailing tube is an excellent method to ship a long and irregularly shaped product, as well as items such as a print/artwork that you are unsure how to package. These shipping tubes can be customized according to the shape and size of the object you are shipping.
Use Labels to Communicate With Employees and Clients
Labels are an excellent way to communicate with staff while making their jobs easier. You may, for example, use fragile labels to inform your employee that the goods within a shipping package are fragile and must be handled with care. Furthermore, a fragile label will help convey the word to customers, ensuring they are likewise cautious when handling the goods.
Additionally, labels may be used to write tiny notes or convey particular details about what is inside a box, saving employees the time it would have taken to open the item, examine it, and then repack it. Labels will also increase consumer appreciation and loyalty since customers will appreciate your time and effort to label boxes.
Keep Void Fillers and Extra Protective Layers on Hand
Void fillers such as kraft paper, peanuts, or extra protective layers such as shrink film, stretch wrap, foam, and bubble are essential for all enterprises. You can never be too careful when shipping a product. Adding an extra layer of cushioning or protection for fragile items is a fantastic way to guarantee they arrive at your customer’s doorstep undamaged.
Go Green with the Boxery
Now that you’ve learned everything there is to know about eco-friendly packaging, what better way to start your road to turning green than by partnering with one of the top packaging supply store in the market? The Boxery is a packaging store that provides a variety of packaging goods to a variety of industries.
The store carries all the packing supplies that a business might require, from shipping boxes to packaging tape, gloves, knives, and markers. With the help of The Boxery, you can order everything you need from one place. The store has boxes in bulk, which means that you won’t have to wait to get your order, and it will be shipped to you on time.
The Boxery has also become a part of the supporter’s list for the United Ways Stuff-A-Bus initiative, where they donate school supplies bought from an amount from their earnings to children from underprivileged families.
Therefore, you can become a part of this initiative by supporting The Boxery. You will also become a part of this positive initiative, and you will have a part in giving those children a better chance at life.
We also value our clients’ time and provide a safe option to make payments online to keep the purchasing procedure as simple as possible.
Besides shipping supplies, The Boxery also carried other packaging supplies such as Janitorial supplies, office supplies, and moving supplies. So, what are you waiting for? If you have any other queries, you can head to The Boxery website, where you will find the FAQ page that answers various questions that customers might have.
If you can’t find the answer on our FAQ page, have questions about wholesale prices, or need suggestions on what type of packaging supplies would be best for you, you can call The Boxery support team at 877-826-9379, and they will be more than happy to assist you.
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