If you’re thinking about making the switch to sustainable packaging, good for you ¾ and good for the world! You’d be in the minority right now, but you’ll most definitely be on the right side of history. And you’ll realize some pretty incredible business benefits over time .
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An important note about sustainable packaging: Pick your battle
As much as you’ll want to solve all the problems packaging creates, you won’t be able to. Sustainable packaging is a give-and-take proposition. A common choice faced by companies is recyclability versus carbon footprint and food waste: high-barrier packaging can extend shelf life and minimize waste along the supply chain, but the packaging itself may be less recyclable.
Decide what’s most important to you and start there.
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Sustainable packaging materials
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Recyclable materials
More than one-third of plastics are created for single-use products or packaging. If this is a problem you’d like to address, switching to recyclable packaging is the way to go.
98M BTUs of energy is saved per ton of recycled plastic (source)
32% less landfill waste being created (source)
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Compostable materials
Exposure to the chemicals in plastic has been linked to cancer, birth defects, impaired immunity and endocrine disruption. If this concerns you, switching to compostable packaging is an option.
0 toxic residue (source)
80% fewer emissions (source)
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Post-consumer recycled materials
Recycling is getting expensive to the point where some municipalities are thinking about ending their programs. If you want to ease the strain by limiting the amount of material being recycled in the first place, post-consumer recycled (PCR) material is a good place to start.
10.8% anticipated growth in the category by 2025 (source)
111M tons of plastic will have to be processed differently this decade (source)
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Renewable materials
Timber and produce farmers are getting squeezed by the lowering prices of their products and rising operations costs. If you’d like to do something about that, consider helping them solidify another revenue stream by choosing renewable packaging.
$20B of new income could be created for farmers through renewable materials (source)
1/3 of all farm produce is wasted, and could just as easily be used for renewable materials (source)
