The world we live in is crumbling in front of our eyes. Millions of tonnes of waste material end up in landfills and open waters every day. Most of which will likely take decades to degrade. The permanence of our actions is irreparable. Now is the time to take action, refocus on our goals and build a more sustainable community. Nowadays we have a plethora of brands coming forward as eco-conscious, yours can be a part of that list as well. It is not just about the brands anymore. The eco-consciousness of the consumer market is growing exponentially. If a demand stirs up the market, it is the business’s obligation to fulfill that demand. Or else they face the fear of lagging behind.
However, you must not worry, if you are a brand that is looking for making a shift towards sustainable custom packaging options then you have come to the right place. Here we have a detailed list of alternatives that do not pose harm to the environment and allow the same features of an ordinary custom package.
Sustainable Packaging Alternatives
There is a long way to go before we completely shift to environmentally safe materials. But for now, we can play our part by using environmentally friendly materials. We have created a list of alternatives to help your business turn over a new page.
Biodegradable
The issue with the standard packaging materials is that it is loaded with plastic and other similar products. These plastics are not derived from natural materials, hence nature’s machinery is unable to break it down as easily. Biodegradable materials are those that can easily be broken down in the environment. Once discarded, these biodegradable materials disintegrate easily by nature itself. Their chemical structures are compatible with nature thus they do not harm our environment even after disintegration. They reduce contamination of waste materials and clean up the environment to a considerable degree. This easy disintegration process reduces the load on the environment appreciably. Not only the remnants of the product do not cause any bio harm but we also end up eliminating the process of waste processing, saving the industry a couple billion dollars.
In order to reduce plastic waste in our waters and landfills, we can use products that provide similar structural properties such as cornstarch packaging. There are a couple of other packaging options that can take the seat of plastic including seaweed packages, mushroom packages, and other biodegradable packages. Furthermore packing peanuts are staple in the industry, they preserve the more delicate products. The innovation in science has landed us on a page where even packaging peanuts are now made from biodegradable material. We have made the switch from polystyrene packing peanuts to more environmentally friendly air peanuts.
Recycled
There are a lot of products that have been in the loop of production that are neither biodegradable nor reusable. These conventional products have served their commercial purpose and are now headed toward a landfill. The process of upcycling such products to create means of use for entirely different things is recycling. In the world of packaging a hefty amount of products serve meager purposes that can be created using recycled material. Now there are even companies that provide the services of collecting viable material from junk that has otherwise been deemed useless. Granted that recycling takes a lot of manpower to extract usable material. But the ulterior is bigger than employing a couple more individuals or delegating the task to another company. Here are a few examples of products you can substitute in place of conventional materials to help the environment.
- Air pillows made from recycled content.
- Recycled cardboard and paper.
- Recycled plastics.
Reusable
Reusable materials and packages have taken the industry by storm. Granted the package is still produced by using conventional materials. It is manufactured in a way that allows the user to remold it and use it for various other purposes. This way the shelf life of the packaging material increases considerably. If the packaging material is used for purposes other than carrying the product to its owner then the waste produced due to the package is reduced. This results in a reduced frequency of packaging materials turning up in landfills. For example;
- Corrugated bubble wrap.
Conclusion
The goal is to keep harm at arm’s length whether it is for our own health or for our environment. If giving up our old practices and acquiring new ones brings about the necessary change to move out of harm’s way then it is a pretty sweet deal. To stop global warming today and preserve the environment for our upcoming generations, we better step up now. As of today we only know to use environmentally friendly materials to help the earth and we can only perform to the best of our knowledge. Till there are better alternatives where the damage to the environment can be reversed we have to just stick to the ways we know. Let us move towards sustainable ways to preserve our dwindling habitat.
