Eco-friendly Packaging Materials are Imperative to Your Brand’s Strategy
More and more consumers are becoming concerned about the environment and they’re looking towards brands to be more eco-conscious. Many consumers — especially in the younger age bracket — want businesses to use eco-friendly packaging materials, and they don’t mind paying a premium for it. With this rising consumer concern, eco-friendly packaging materials aren’t something your brand can ignore. So, what are these eco-friendly materials and how can your e-commerce brand improve its sustainability initiatives? Let’s dive in.
What are Eco-friendly Packaging Materials?
Eco-friendly packaging refers to packaging that’s easy to recycle and made from materials with minimal impact on energy consumption or natural resources. This can include a number of materials — like biodegradable plastic, cellulose, and corrugated cardboard, among others. By far one of the most common and cost-effective eco-friendly packaging materials is corrugated cardboard, which is what we’ll be focusing on in this article.
Benefits of Using Eco-friendly Packaging Materials for Your E-commerce Brand
Build Customer Loyalty
We’ve already established that more and more consumers are looking for brands to up their sustainability game. Increasing efforts toward sustainable practices can only benefit your brand image. Showing consumers you care about the environment builds trust with your brand, and may lead to long-term, repeat customers. However, that’s not the only benefit to using corrugated cardboard packaging.
Reduce Costs and Increase Your Bottom Line
Corrugated cardboard is lightweight, meaning your overall package will be lighter, resulting in lower carbon emissions during transportation and reducing your logistics costs. You can also custom-design boxes to fit your product, reducing or completely eliminating costs for inner packaging materials.
Diminish Your Carbon Footprint
One of the most obvious benefits is that corrugated cardboard packaging can help reduce your overall carbon footprint. Corrugated cardboard is less taxing on the environment than other materials, like plastic. The creation of plastics accounts for 3.8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, which is nearly double what the aviation industry produces. The cardboard and paper industry, in comparison, only accounts for about 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cardboard is also made from a renewable resource — trees — whereas plastic is made from nonrenewable crude oil.
How to Make Your E-commerce Packaging Solutions More Eco-friendly
Switch to Corrugated Cardboard Packaging
If you’re looking to increase the sustainability of your e-commerce packaging solutions, switching to corrugated cardboard is one of the best routes to go. You’ll be using a recyclable, sustainable material that also can help cut down on your transportation footprint and costs.
Use Recycled Packaging Materials
Go one step above switching to corrugated cardboard and use recycled corrugated cardboard packaging. Recycled packaging is a great way to extend the life of previously used materials.
Partner with a Company that Prioritizes Sustainability
Don’t go on your sustainability journey alone. The right partner can help you source sustainable packaging materials for your brand. At Jamestown Container Companies, we have over 65 years of experience minimizing any negative impact packaging makes on the environment.
Almost all of our corrugated boxes are made with materials sourced from programs such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and American Tree Farm System (ATFS). Additionally, all of our locations are provided with the ultimate in lightweight, 100% recycled linerboard from the Greenpac Mill in Niagara Falls, NY. The mill’s state-of-the-art facility has one of the lowest amounts of paper landfill waste in the country and is the largest of its kind in North America. Paper from the Greenpac Mill allows us to achieve maximum performance and strength without sacrificing sustainability.
To top it off, all of the machinery at our facilities is run on electric power, and a majority of our products contain 100% recycled material. Our organization understands the importance of being green and is committed to providing you with the most environmentally friendly, reliable, and durable materials.
Let’s Build Something Great Together
We’d love to learn more about your sustainability goals and help you create custom corrugated packaging for your brand. Reach out to us here and schedule an appointment today.
