Seven key reasons to use Sustainable Packaging for your brand
Sustainable packing is versatile, people-friendly and reusable while adding value to your brand by using less energy to reduce greenhouse gasses and toxins.
Today’s consumers are increasingly aware of the role they play in the health of the planet. Resources are limited and are being strained annually. Declining air quality and increasing global temperatures can be linked to the burning of fossil fuels. The public is carefully scrutinizing the packaging of products they are buying from a store or online shopping. Why should one product be purchased rather than another? There are many reasons. Coming to the forefront is the question of the sustainability of the packaging. With constant shipping going on all over the world every day, few concerns have a higher priority. As a single example: Amazon ships 13 million packages daily. That amounts to vast quantities of Styrofoam peanuts and plastic packaging. A mountain of waste that will not biodegrade. The EPA estimates that packaging contributes 77.9 tons of municipal solid waste and makes up 65% of household waste. Out of every $10.00 spent on commodities, $1.00 goes to packaging. 42% of consumers questioned said that recycled or sustainable packaging materials were crucial to their everyday purchasing habits. 57% reported that they would pay more for environmentally friendly packaging.
Wholesale cosmetic bags are a unique gifting/advertising opportunity for your brand.
Why is a product purchased? It may be familiarity, curiosity, impulse, word of mouth. The product meets a certain need. Is one of those needs packaging sustainability? Answering the question of the disposal of a product’s packaging is becoming a priority for both the public and the product’s manufacturers. The design process is taking a major role in many companies while they study the bottom line in the profits column. Annual sustainability goals are being established; the position of Chief Sustainability Officer is becoming standard. One of their goals is to create an educated consumer. Finding suitable replacements for the inexpensive fossil-based plastics and Styrofoam is not easy or cheap, but it is being done through research and development. Mars Corp. is an example with their 2025 Sustainable Packaging Plan which states:
100% plastic to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable
25% reduction of virgin plastic use
Implement 10 reuse programs that test the new business models
30% average recycled content in plastic packaging
Recycling guidance for consumers in all major markets
Eliminate PVC in 2020
Biobased materials are substances derived from living, or once-living, organisms consisting of plant biomass that leaves a reduced carbon footprint. Some materials that may be used in green packaging may be starch-based biomaterial packing peanuts; corrugated bubble wrap which will biodegrade; mushroom-based packing material; recycled cardboard and paper; post-consumer recycled plastics; organic fabric and refurbished products; corn and other organic foods. The possibilities will expand as more experiments are conducted.
Drawstring Muslin bags have become very trendy in the past few years.
The use of sustainable packaging has many benefits to the manufacturer, the consumer, and the environment:
Reduction of greenhouse gasses—resulting in the reduction of the carbon footprint of the packaging. The life cycle of packaging goes from the extraction of raw materials to production to transportation, to usage, and finally to the end of the life cycle. During each of these steps, a certain amount of carbon is released. The goal of sustainable packaging is the reduction of carbon emissions.
Materials are free from allergens and toxins—the options for sustainable packaging will result in keeping harmful allergens from the packaging process. The chemical component will be reduced. Developing new technology will permit existing machinery to use safer base ingredients, promote better affordability, and allow ease of implementation while maintaining stable costs.
The brand message will reflect an eco-friendly product and packaging, educating the consumer to the benefits of sustainable packaging. This is already being accomplished in TV and print advertising campaigns promoting new packaging and the benefits derived from purchasing the “new”, but familiar, product. It will reflect ecological proactivity and corporate transparency about product life cycle management. People are reluctant to make substantial changes to their lifestyles but are willing to engage in companies that are taking steps in the direction of reducing waste.
Less energy will be needed to produce and dispose of sustainable packaging compared to traditional materials. Air pollution and water pollution will be reduced, and harmful toxins out will be kept out of the lifestream. New designs for machinery to manufacture sustainable packaging will be more energy efficient. Existing machinery will be streamlined and retrofitted to meet new needs. The overall carbon footprint will be reduced.
The “unwrap and throw away” philosophy is no longer acceptable. Sustainable packaging eliminates or reduces the use of plastics. Smaller, lighter packaging reduces emissions in the transportation of goods. More products can fit in bulk shipping. Shipping costs will be less. This is the beginning of an environmental turnaround.
There is versatility in sustainable packaging. Designers are going for the next “what if?” Experiments will be conducted to develop materials that can be reused and repurposed in different capacities. Traditional packaging will not be acceptable as one-use any more. What will be the next breakthrough?
Over the years the ocean has become a dumping ground for immense quantities of plastics. Ocean life has become more endangered. Toxins are released into the water and ultimately enter the food chain. Cleanup is not possible. Reduction is the answer. It is the beginning of a greener future.
The bottom line reads “Sustainable, Biodegradable, Lightweight.”
The slogan has become “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink.”
There is an unbreakable tie between production and consumption. Compostable, recyclable, natural ingredients hold the keys to sustainable packaging. The new alliance between producer and consumer should lead to winners all around, with Earth taking the biggest share.
If you are looking for an eco-friendly packaging solution, we are a wholesale cosmetic bags supplier based in California, USA. In addition to makeup bags, we also supply muslin drawstring bags in bulk. Please feel free to call us at 949-680-4004 or email us at gallant@gallantintl.com
