3 Reasons Why Finding a Sustainable Retail Bag Supplier Is Important

Last Updated on December 15, 2023 by Packoi Team

Building an eco-friendly reputation for your brand starts with choosing the right supplier to partner with. Find an environmentally sustainable supplier for your retail bags.

According to statistics compiled by The Sustainable Agency, 80% of a product’s greenhouse gas emissions come from its suppliers.

This is why it’s important to choose the right supplier for your retail bag. Packaging waste is a huge problem all over the world, and the simple act of partnering with a sustainable supplier can help improve that.

In this article, you’ll learn 3 reasons why you should only partner with sustainable retail bag suppliers and how you can be sure you’re choosing the right one.

Reason 1: Environmental Responsibility

All businesses have been called upon to be more conscious of how they operate and create their products. Consumerism is to blame for the growing environmental problems like packaging waste, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.

By partnering with a sustainable retail bag supplier, you can confidently claim that you’re taking your environmental responsibility seriously. After all, these companies are committed to eco-friendly practices. Here are the different ways they do that.

1) Reduces Carbon Footprint

Sustainable companies are conscious of their carbon footprint. A retail bag supplier, for instance, would have found ways to be more energy efficient with their production line. They would consider using renewable energy sources to mass produce their packaging, like solar power collected from panels on top of their facility.

This would enable them to reduce their carbon footprint significantly, which would lead to a lower negative impact on the environment.

2) Uses Renewable Materials

The term renewable means it doesn’t get depleted. The company getting its energy from a renewable source should be careful when replacing what they are getting from the environment.

For instance, a sustainable packaging supplier of paper bags should only source from responsibly managed forests. This means the right trees are cut, which are the old ones that can no longer absorb the carbon dioxide in the air. These trees will be replaced by new ones that are better able to clean the air around them.

But this isn’t the only thing that you should be looking into. Recyclability is another way to support renewable efforts.

By creating paper bags made of recycled materials, there wouldn’t be a need to cut down more trees to produce more paper bags. This lowers carbon emissions significantly.

3) Focuses On Reusable Products

Sustainable suppliers are also focused on making their products reusable. By getting your paper retail bags from the right supplier, you can be assured of their durability. They can last for multiple uses before they need to be sent off to the recycling bin.

This is also an effective way of protecting the trees. When the demand for trees is down, there’s no need to cut them yet. This will have a positive effect on the environment.

4) Practices Waste Reduction

With paper bags being reusable and recyclable, what happens to packaging waste? It goes down significantly.

But it gets better if you’re working with a sustainable supplier. These manufacturers have improved and updated their production lines so that they leave minimal waste. This is one of the goals of sustainability. To minimize waste by maximizing the use of existing resources.

5) Opts for Eco-Friendly Ink and Printing Techniques

Sustainable suppliers won’t stop at energy-efficient processes and eco-friendly materials. They would ensure that the entirety of the paper bag would be eco-friendly.

That means using bio-based ink and printing techniques to print the design on the paper bag. Biodegradable ink is made of non-toxic solvents. Eco-friendly printing techniques conserve resources without compromising the quality of the final product.

Reason 2: Brand Image and Customer Perception

Working with a sustainable retail bag supplier can also improve your brand image and, in effect, your customer’s perceptions.

With the call for sustainability getting louder and more popular, people are starting to act on it. Consumers are looking for companies that are committed to saving the environment.

By partnering with a sustainable supplier, you get to use that to your advantage. It’s such a simple yet profound step in changing your brand as well as the products and packaging that you use. There are 4 things that your brand image can benefit from.

1) Eco-certification and Labels

A packaging supplier can’t just claim that they’re practicing sustainability. They have to show proof. This is where certifications given by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Rainforest Alliance, or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) come into play.

When a supplier is certified by these organizations, they put their mark or label on the final product. Once you use it, these markings stay. Even if you put your branding on the retail bag, the markings are there as well.

Even if it’s not your company that was certified, your customers will see these markings beside your branding. They’ll make the association, and it’ll be your brand that benefits from it.

2) Compliance with Regulations

Packaging suppliers get their certification because they followed and adhered to the strict standards of the organization that imposed them. These standards usually comply with both international and local regulations.

When your retail bag bears the certification logo and labels, it shows that it’s in complete compliance with these rules and regulations. That can elevate your brand’s image.

3) Association with Global Recognition

Certifications from the FSC, Rainforest Alliance, and SFI are globally recognized. If your packaging holds these labels, your brand will be recognized internationally as well. People will know that you’ve taken steps to be more sustainable with your processes.

This will help you gain access to areas that implement strict rules when it comes to sustainability. It’s one way to penetrate new markets and gain respect as an advocate for the environment.

4) Alignment with Customer Values

Your commitment to saving the environment won’t just elevate your brand. It can also change the perception of your customers about the values that you choose to be associated with.

This will attract eco-conscious customers to you. Anyone who holds the environment in a high lot of respect will be drawn to your brand as well. They know that by supporting your brand, they’ll be supporting the supplier that’s directly affecting the environment.

By showing that you’re partnering with the right suppliers, you can easily win over your customers and make them loyal to you.

Reason 3: Cost-Efficiency

Your business finances will also benefit when you choose to work with sustainable retail bag suppliers. It’s not just about getting cheaper paper bags.

The truth is that eco-friendly materials cost more to source and produce. But despite that, it still turns out to be more cost-efficient in the long run.

Here are the reasons why this is true.

1) High-Quality Products

No reputable organization will allow its members to produce subpar products. So if you see suppliers with the FSC or SFI mark, you can be sure that they’ve proven their ability to create high-quality products.

It’s not just about getting quality materials. The suppliers are also required to show how they process and produce the final products. The actual process should use state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and techniques.

All these would benefit your brand because the paper bag will be made of high-quality materials using innovative processes.

2) Tax Incentives

Some areas provide tax benefits to companies that adopt sustainable practices. Partnering with a sustainable packaging supplier can be deemed as such.

If you carry the FSC logo on your packaging, it’ll be proof of your compliance with sustainability. You can get tax incentives or rewards because of it. That can lead to huge cost savings for your business.

3) Innovative Materials

To keep their certifications, suppliers will have to keep their processes and equipment up-to-date. This is something that you can benefit from.

If you want to be innovative with your packaging solutions, it’ll be easier to make it happen if you partner with a certified packaging supplier. You can be creative with your design, and they can deliver it in an eco-friendly way.

The packaging that’ll come out as a result will make your brand and product stand out. This may not sound like a financial benefit, but you’ll have to read the next part to understand it better.

4) Higher Sales

Thanks to the innovative retail bag that you’ll get, you can expect to impress your customers with your ingenuity. The premium quality of the packaging will also add to the value of your brand and product.

As your packaging stands out, it increases the chances that you’ll get more sales. Not only that, you can strengthen the customer’s loyalty to you. This will help you get a good return on your packaging investment.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Sustainable Retail Bag Supplier

Searching for a sustainable retail bag supplier isn’t as tough as it seems because a lot of manufacturers have complied with the call for sustainability. But if you want to search for the right packaging partner, that’s a different matter.

You want to work with a supplier who can understand your retail packaging needs. That includes knowing what your brand is all about and what type of packaging will best represent it.

To do that, you need to ask the supplier the right questions.

1. How Are the Bags Produced?

By asking about how the retail bags are produced, you’re finding out the specific sustainable practices that the supplier is implementing. This will help you determine their carbon footprint as well as how energy-efficient their processes are.

Ask about the printing process. Is it energy-efficient? What type of ink do they use? If they use petroleum-based ink, that defeats the purpose of their sustainable processes. Not only that, the toxic ink won’t make the ink recyclable. The supplier has to use bio-based ink or soy-based ink instead.

The answer to this question will also educate you about the process of creating packaging so you can make better decisions when choosing the materials or design for your retail bags.

2. What Resources Are Used to Create the Retail Bag?

Once you understand how the supplier creates packaging, inquire about the materials that they typically use. There are three reasons for this.

First, you want to ask about the type of materials that they specialize in. Some suppliers are experts in paper-based packaging. Others are experts at creating boxes. If you know the specialty of the supplier, you’ll get a better idea of their capabilities.

Second, you want to find out if you can use their stock materials. It’s possible to negotiate better prices if you end up using materials that the supplier has in stock.

Third, you want to confirm what sustainable materials they use. Is it recycled materials? Some suppliers use a blend of materials, while others opt for 100% recycled materials. Don’t forget to inquire about the finish of the paper used to create the retail bags. Unbleached paper is safer compared to bleached ones.

3. Where Do the Raw Materials Come From?

If you’re looking for paper bag suppliers, ask where they get their raw materials from. Make sure it comes from responsibly managed forests.

One way to do that is to check if they are certified. For instance, an FSC-certified supplier gets their materials from FSC-certified forests that are protected from exploitation and deforestation. Partnering with this supplier will ensure that your retail bags won’t be causing harm to the world’s forests.

You should also ask where the raw materials are delivered from. If it’s from far away, that can affect the carbon footprint of the supplier.

4. How Many Times Can the Bag Be Reused?

All your efforts to be more sustainable and eco-friendly are meant to help solve the pressing problems of the environment. One of which is packaging waste.

Apart from using eco-friendly retail bags, make sure they can be reused multiple times. Talk to the supplier about this and ask about the durability of the bag. How many times can it be reused? How are the bags tested for durability?

The stronger and more durable the bags are, the more they can be reused.

Work With an FSC-Certified Supplier of Retail Bags. Packoi Printing in Here.

As you look for a sustainable retail bag supplier, it’s important to focus on how much they can help you leave a positive environmental impact through your packaging. Changing your internal processes and turning them into sustainable practices can be tedious and challenging. But with the right partner, it can get easier.

If you’re looking for sustainable retail bag suppliers, Packoi Printing is here to help. We hold an FSC certification that guarantees our commitment to sustainability. All our packaging is marked with the FSC logo – something that you can benefit from by association.

We also have a design team who can help create sustainable packaging for your brand. Reach out to us so we can talk further about your requirements.

Call us with the details. We’ll get back to you with a quote in no time.

Article sources