There’s no getting around it – sometimes plastic packaging is the only viable solution to meet your business and shipping needs.
Yet, in these situations, there’s no need to cut back on your eco-credentials, as you have 100% recycled plastic and biodegradable options available.
From drums, spill trays, and spill control pallets, you can opt for recycled plastic materials to reduce raw material extraction demand. Yet, it must be noted that there’s a limit to the number of times plastic can be recycled (2-3 times), meaning even recycled content will soon end up in landfill sites.
Another – and greener – alternative would be to source biodegradable plastic materials. Biodegradability describes the extent to which a material can be decomposed by living microorganisms producing water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. We’ve already discussed one bioplastic, cornstarch, but others such as those made from sugar cane and wheat exist – which again, compete with human food supplies. Yet, bioplastics also cover a sub-set known as microbial polyesters, or polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) – aha, have we now found an ethical source of bioplastics?
PHAs are polyesters that are synthesized and stored by various bacteria and archaea. When these microorganisms are cultured in nutrient-limited concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, or oxygen with excess carbon, they produce biodegradable polyester chains. The only restraint on this plastic alternative is the cost of the carbon provided to be metabolized by the microorganisms. Yet, waste cooking oil and animal oils offer a promising, cost-effective, and sustainable option. Plus, bacteria have been genetically modified to create a more efficient process.
Companies such as Nestle, Pepsico, and Bacardi are introducing this new PHA plastic into their supply chain.
Click here to buy wholesale PHA to manufacture plastic packaging products, and click here for a list of recycled plastic suppliers across the USA, to meet your business’s shipping needs.
Ecological textile packaging will give extra value to your customers while also reducing business waste across your supply chain, being a multi-use, durable material. For instance, you can design reusable bags to replace plastic bags or textile wraps that can be reused as furniture surface protectors.
There are a variety of organic fabrics on the market including hemp, organic or recycled cotton, tapioca, and palm leaves (plus more). All of these materials are biodegradable, meaning they take relatively less time to decompose naturally. For instance, pure linen takes two weeks to decompose. In comparison, it takes 10,000 years for plastic bags to degrade. Once more, plastics degrade into microplastics, which seep into food chains, negatively impacting wildlife and human health.
Below we’ve listed some ideas on how you can use organic textiles for the shipment of your products:
Click here to purchase ecological textile packaging to meet your business’s shipping needs.
Take one moment to imagine. Imagine walking around the grocery store and seeing food items wrapped in edible skin. Imagine eating your wrapped fruit, chocolate bar, or ice cream right off the shelf, packaging included. Well, your imagination might soon be a reality with the invention of edible films.
More appropriate to the food industry, edible films provide a sustainable packaging alternative for wrapping food items. This packaging has the potential to make food storage, preparation, and of course, transportation simpler. Edible films have the potential to curb food and packaging waste, while also reducing chemical leaching from plastic coats.
Different natural products can be used to create edible packaging, but the most effective and widely used is chitosan. Chitosan is a sugar that’s made from the chitin shells of shrimp and other crustaceans. This makes chitosan one of the most abundant biopolymers after cellulose.
If you work in the food industry, switch to edible film packaging to protect and package your food items before shipment, rather than using environmentally-harmful plastics.
Click here to purchase edible film packaging to meet your business’s shipping needs.
Buyers guide: Eco friendly packaging for small businesses
Adopting eco friendly packaging for your small business will require an internal shift, to introduce new ways of operating. You’ll need to assess and re-adjust your business supply chain to make a tangible and positive contribution to your organization and the world around you. To help you achieve this, below you’ll find our step-by-step eco friendly packaging buyers guide.
Look at your products and review the packaging you use for every item you sell. This means going beyond the packaging used to ship/transport your products, to think about the packaging used for product storage and on-the-shelf marketing.
Compare packaging used between product types, locations, and every other part of the supply chain. Look through your packaging and decide what materials you can substitute, and which materials take up the most resources. Your aim is to cut down on the wasteful packaging you don’t need.
We know consumers want eco friendly packaging, meaning they’re a useful stakeholder group to collaborate with to support your green journey. Talk to your customers and find out what their pain points are. Do they feel you’re guilty of using excess packaging? Can they recommend packaging alternatives? How much more are they willing to pay for a more sustainable option? What packaging features are they willing to compromise on (e.g. aesthetics, design features)?
Don’t forget about your employees. Chat to those who work on the manufacturing and production processes. Do they have ideas on how you can reduce packaging waste, and switch to more eco friendly materials? Welcoming your employees to the discussion will create a positive, green culture – fundamental to the success of your overarching sustainability program.
Define your green goals by balancing the responses given by your customers and employees with the organization’s business needs (e.g. your product still needs adequate protection for transportation). Your aim is to create a world that can support your business, yet keep in mind that to do that, your business needs to support our world.
As consumer pressure grows, more companies are adapting their shipping systems to be sustainable. Innovative companies will stay ahead of this change curve, setting precedent for everyone else.
You need to be a part of these trendsetters. Start with small-scale alterations, such as reducing the amount of air space within each packed item (a change that will even save you money). Switch to recycled materials, such as recycled cardboard or plastic. Then strategize and set goals for the big changes, such as swapping plastic from your supply chain with PHA (or other) alternatives.
The prevalence and increasing demand for plant-based, bio-based, and sustainable materials has accelerated research and development in this field, meaning these materials are becoming increasingly competitive in today’s market.
“Not only do bio-based materials and chemicals perform as well, they can actually perform better than petro-based incumbents and offer real business value to companies – Lux Research, Hunting For Value And Performance In The Bio-based Materials And Chemicals Space.
On this note, the World Economic Forum showed that sustainable sourcing reduced costs along a business’s supply chain by up to 16%. In addition, as consumers seek sustainable materials, these cost reductions come with an increase in sales.
In addition, across the globe we see leaders address our environmental crisis with new policies, legislation, and taxation. And business waste has come up for scrutiny in recent years. For instance, on the 1st of April 2022, the United Kingdom introduced the Plastic Packaging Tax – applying to plastic packaging produced in, or imported into the UK that doesn’t contain at least 30% recycled plastic. Will the USA follow suit? In 2021, Congressman Tom Suozzi introduced a bill that would impose a fee on the sale of virgin plastic for single-use products. Sourcing eco-friendly packaging materials will help you stay ahead of legislation, policy and taxation updates, meaning you’ll be well-and-truly prepared when the business landscape changes.
You must consider these hidden business savings when drawing your budget for sourcing eco friendly packaging materials.
Use our 10 eco friendly packaging ideas, your budget, and the information gathered from your customers and employees to define your sustainable packaging goals – for the packaging used in product storage, transportation, and for on-the-shelf marketing. These goals should be fluid, and open to change as you continuously evaluate the business landscape for further improvements and innovations in the eco friendly packaging market.
Be sure to set short and long-term goals. Your short-term goals should be quick wins to drive momentum. Long-term goals are likely to demand more financial backing and a restructuring of your supply chain.
Research supply chain partners that align with your green goals. Look for green business certification which demonstrates a business’s commitment to sustainability. Your aim is to form positive and collaborative B2B relations with ethical, sustainable, and certified suppliers. As a consumer of sustainable packaging, think about what improvements your suppliers can make. Support your suppliers in developing more sustainable material-sourcing and production processes.
Bulk buying reduces costs per unit, meaning your investments will go further. Bulk buying is also better for the planet by minimizing the transportation of goods. Larger packages mean the delivery truck can be packed more efficiently reducing emissions from the burning of fuel.
Also, think about bulk buying when delivering your products to customers. Can you deliver items to multiple customers together, rather than running separate logistic trips? This idea goes beyond the scope of this article, but if you want to learn more head to Supply Chain Sustainability: Your 20-Tip Guide to Creating A Sustainable Supply Chain.
How do your consumers feel about your new packaging?
How much are your logistic costs now compared to the costs of your old packaging system?
How has the market changed? Are there any new, alternative packaging materials – even more beneficial to the environment – that you can introduce into your supply chain?
Sustainability is a continuous process, one where you need to be collecting and analyzing relevant internal business data, plus the business landscape for further green developments.
Without keeping track of the green improvements you’ve made, it can be hard for you to assess the impact of the changes introduced.
Once more, you’ll want to conduct regular audits to identify how you can streamline packaging and distribution processes further.
Keep in mind that sustainability is a holistic approach that goes beyond the packaging materials you use. That is, you’ll need to be visiting all facets of your organization to create a truly sustainable business model.
To help you, the Green Business Bureau has developed an affordable EcoAssessment and EcoPlanner for small business owners like you, helping you keep track of the green initiatives you’ve introduced and get certified for your efforts.
Measure results and set goals for the future. Whether that’s introducing more sustainable packaging materials, or simplifying your distribution systems, GBB has more than 400 green initiatives covering every operational area of a business. These green initiatives can be ordered by effort and impact, helping you implement low-hanging fruit changes first, to kick-start your program.
Once your sustainability program is rolling, you’ll receive green business certification for your efforts, having your very own clickable Green Seal of approval. Your customers can use this Green Seal to access your online EcoProfile and view what green changes you’ve successfully installed, and your green goals for the future.
The changing tide of packaging
With many eco friendly alternatives on the market at competitive prices, more businesses are recognizing the opportunities to make the switch to eco friendly packaging. As such, smart business owners throughout the country are making the change today to ensure they are ahead of the game tomorrow. To showcase their commitment to being green, and to guide their sustainability program, businesses are seeking green business certification platforms like the Green Business Bureau.
For more information on sustainable packaging for your business, why not read our Sustainable Packaging Guide for Small Business.
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