Last Updated on May 31, 2023 by Packoi Team
In this article, you’ll learn about what it means to use eco-friendly packaging and the different ways that it can benefit your business.
What Does It Mean to Use Eco-Friendly Packaging?
A lot of businesses have been using eco-friendly packaging for years. Instead of using traditional packaging materials like plastic, they’ve turned away from materials proven harmful to the environment.
The term eco-friendly refers to anything that won’t harm our ecosystem. So the use of green packaging means businesses are making an effort to keep greenhouse gas emissions low. It reduces packaging waste that would stay in landfills for decades and even centuries.
You can choose from many product packaging options to be more eco-friendly.
Using recyclable packaging means opting for materials that can be easily recycled. You also have the option to use compostable packaging that customers can decompose at home instead of throwing away. There are also reusable and biodegradable packaging options for you to choose from.
The Key to Being Sustainable In Your Packaging
Before you move to be more eco-friendly in your solutions, educating yourself about sustainable packaging practices is essential. Sometimes, people think using paper packaging materials to be sustainable is enough.
Or as long as their packaging is made from recycled materials, they’re already good.
Even if you use a widely recycled packaging material, that doesn’t mean you’re already sustainable.
Sustainability isn’t just about reducing waste or recycling more. It’s about reducing your carbon footprint and practicing eco-friendly methods without compromising business profitability. It’s about balancing present needs without compromising the environment for future generations.
If you keep that in mind, finding the proper packaging solution for your products will be easier.
What Are The Advantages of Sustainable Packaging Materials?
Using sustainable packaging offers a lot of environmental benefits. It keeps you from using plastic bags known for having a negative environmental impact. These single-use plastics, in particular, stay in landfills long. They won’t decompose, and it remains as litter on the face of the Earth for generations.
If we don’t do anything about this, it can affect the world’s ecosystems in ways that can harm our way of living. The floods, global warming, and other environmental concerns will only worsen.
As a business that uses a lot of packaging, this is one area that you can improve to help in the global efforts to take care of the environment. Instead of leaving your packaging as waste in landfills, use eco-friendly packaging materials.
Doing this will bring incredible benefits that’ll make your business flourish. Here are some of the important ones.
It Appeals to Your Customers
If you look at the different studies about consumer behavior, there’s one significant change happening in recent years. Many consumers are choosing the eco-friendly option.
For instance, if they see 2 products, they usually go for one with eco-friendly packaging. In their mind, it’s a way to keep their packaging waste from harming the environment further.
So if you want your customer base to stay loyal to you, ensure your brand’s image resonates with their environmental advocacies.
Use packaging that can help them practice being more eco-friendly. Make it either reusable or recyclable. If it fits your product, you can even make it compostable.
It Improves Your Brand Reputation
Since sustainable packaging helps impress your customers, you’ll naturally end up with an improved brand image as an after-effect. Being known as a company that uses eco-friendly methods is good, so you should capitalize on that.
Use your environmentally-friendly packaging solutions to your advantage.
Create a campaign to let everyone know that you’re packaging will be more eco-friendly from now on. Dedicate a page on your website to talk about it.
The more information you share about your efforts to be more sustainable, the more it’ll improve your brand’s reputation.
It Reduces Your Carbon Footprint
If you choose to be sustainable, you won’t just get eco-friendly packaging. You’ll be concerned about every process that your packaging will go through. You’ll select lighter-weight materials to keep transportation costs low.
You can also help reduce your carbon footprint because your packaging will leave enough room in any shipment or delivery. This reduces the carbon dioxide emissions that, in turn, will help with global warming.
Sustainability will also encourage you to use renewable energy and ensure packaging waste reduction.
These efforts will help consume fossil fuels to a lesser degree than when using more extensive packaging options.
It Provides A Platform To Educate
Your packaging isn’t just there to protect your product and market your brand. It’s also a great tool for sharing your thoughts about sustainable practices.
Sometimes, it’s not enough to have sustainable packaging. It would help if you also shared with your customers how they can be more eco-friendly.
Use the surface of the packaging to educate your customers.
Even if it’s something as simple as properly disposing of the packaging or describing the brand’s corporate responsibility programs and how the customer can pitch in to help.
This is an excellent opportunity for you to encourage your customers to be more eco-friendly in their ways.
It Inspires Sustainable Action
When you are very vocal about your efforts to have a more positive environmental impact, that can inspire others to take action.
The mere act of using sustainable materials is already inspiring. But you can do more than that through your packaging.
For instance, once you’ve educated them about plastic packaging, they’ll know more about reducing waste packaging. They’ll be more conscious of their carbon footprint and try to lessen their environmental impact – even if only through your packaging.
It Motivates Your Employees
If employees know they work for a company that values the human quality of life, they’ll be more productive. They understand that they are part of a company with admirable corporate standards.
That’s what you’ll be showing them when you use eco-friendly packaging. If the company succeeds in its advocacies, more people will benefit.
That’s something that can motivate employees to work harder.
So if you show that your company is serious about being eco-conscious and using green packaging, it’ll inspire your employees to adopt the same principles in their lifestyle.
It Increases Your Revenue
It may be hard to believe, but many businesses use their corporate social responsibility to get more profit.
Think about it.
With customers impressed by the brand’s sustainable packaging and the motivation your employees feel because they’re working for a responsible company, it won’t be surprising that revenues will start to rise.
But by choosing sustainable packaging, you’ll be inclined to choose natural materials and processes that’ll help in minimizing resources. Shipping costs will be more cost-efficient, and you’ll reduce costs on the overall packaging.
The result will be a higher profit margin which will benefit the company financially.
It Makes Your Packaging Safe
What’s great about green packaging is it doesn’t usually have the synthetic chemicals used by traditional packaging. This lessens the negative environmental impact that your packaging will have.
Being sustainable means, you’ll be using more eco-friendly materials like paper and cardboard. Or you can stick to designs allowing customers to reuse your packaging.
Overall, the packaging will use safer raw materials, and even after it serves its purpose, it’ll stay away from landfills for as long as possible.
It Forces Innovation
Businesses that only utilize standard packaging will get left behind. Don’t be a part of that statistic. Even if you don’t know anything about sustainable packaging or what recycled materials you should use, it’s okay.
This is a chance for you to learn something new. Find out what the market criteria are when it comes to environmentally friendly packaging. Learn about raw materials to know the right one for your packaging.
This is an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge of packaging and be more innovative with your efforts.
Do You Want to Start Using Sustainable Packaging? Packoi Printing Has Several Options for You to Choose From.
If you’re new to sustainable packaging, don’t feel intimidated. While many things are involved in creating environmentally friendly packaging, there is much information to help you understand it.
The key is finding the right partner to help you know your options. It’ll make things easier if you have someone passionate about eco-friendly packaging.
Packoi Printing can be that partner for you. We are FSC-certified, meaning our manufacturing process and materials are all sustainable and responsibly sourced.
We can help you identify suitable sustainable packaging that can help you start being eco-friendly.
Give us a call, and we can discuss your options. Once you give us the details, you’ll have our fair quotation quickly.
