Benefits of Eco-Friendly Packaging

We all know that we should be using eco-friendly packaging whenever we can, but almost anything can be described as eco or environmentally friendly if you stretch the definitions far enough. After all, many of the plastics commonly used in packaging can be recycled – it’s just that hardly anybody does it, usually because many of them aren’t collected by local councils.

There are a number of different features that packaging needs to comprise for it to be reasonably described as eco friendly or sustainable, including:

• Using as few materials in its manufacture as possible
• Energy and water efficient in its manufacture, content and storage
• Containing recycled material(s)
• Easily recyclable or reusable content
• Containing biodegradable, compostable or renewable material(s)
• Minimal environmental impact during manufacture, transport, storage, etc

So, it should be clear that using eco-friendly packaging has a beneficial effect on our environment compared to other packaging. But did you know that using eco-friendly packaging can also have a positive impact on your business?

Reducing your carbon footprint is no longer just a means of feeling better about yourself. From 1 April 2019, it became a requirement for quoted companies in the UK (i.e. those whose shares have been accepted for trading on a stock exchange) to report publicly on their energy use and carbon footprint. Other companies are not currently required to do this, but they are being ‘encouraged’. It may therefore be in the interest of every business to be on top of this matter sooner rather than later as further legislation in this area is highly likely.

With that increased public reporting of your business’ environmental impact, using eco-friendly packaging can become a powerful and effective marketing tool in its own right.

As previously mentioned, we generally feel better about ourselves and our business when we reduce our negative impact on the environment. What matters more, however, is that many of our customers feel a lot better about us as well! A 2016 YouGov survey reported that consumers were 67% more likely to buy from a business that was taking positive action on climate change and the environment. Meanwhile, a 2020 Neilson survey discovered that 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands, with that figure rising to above 70% for millennials and Gen Z (i.e. people born between 1980 and 2010).

So, we’ve discovered what a positive marketing tool eco-friendly packaging can be. But there are a number of ways in which using it can actually cut your costs as a business as well. That may come as a surprise to many who might think that part of the reason for many of the old packaging solutions was that they were cheap, and that ‘going green’ would inevitably mean higher costs.

However, as more and more companies adopt eco-friendly packaging, basic economics makes it inevitable that unit prices will drop – making eco-friendly packaging a luxury item is no longer a viable option in today’s world.

Meanwhile, as the climate crisis becomes more urgent, businesses are also developing more sophisticated ways to create eco-friendly solutions that don’t cost the earth in financial terms either. That means smarter packaging that gives a better balance between weight, bulkiness, durability and reusability. The lower the weight of your packaging and the less volume it takes, the lower your transport costs are likely to be.

Returns of products sold online are inevitably going to be higher than those sold on the high street. That means that much of your packaging may well find its way back to you and that you are going to be responsible for disposing of more and more of it in the long run. Disposing of recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable material is a lot easier (and again, a lot cheaper) than sending it to landfill. Which is exactly as it should be!

Here at Morplan, we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and do everything we can to ensure our packaging meets the highest possible environmental standards, including the latest in biodegradable, pellet-shaped void fill, which we have been using since February 2020. We are also officially a zero landfill company – that means 100% of our industry and business waste now gets recycled or incinerated.

To find out more about our environmentally sustainable packaging solutions and eco-friendly shopfittings and retail supplies, get in touch with our friendly team today.