The Perks Of Sustainable Product Packaging

The Perks Of Sustainable Product Packaging

The Perks Of Sustainable Product Packaging

The way you package your product says a lot about your business and your brand. And in an age of growing concern about climate change, making your packaging as sustainable as possible is essential.

Unless you’ve already started to look at the sustainability of your packaging, this could be an entirely alien concept. So what are the perks of sustainable product packaging and why should you consider choosing it for your next big launch?

Cut Your Carbon Footprint

Businesses are under more scrutiny than ever in terms of the impact that their activities have on the environment. You might not think about the role that packaging plays in creating harmful emissions and increasing the size of your company’s carbon footprint, but it can be surprisingly significant.

The type of material you choose will be relevant. Plastic packaging is not usually biodegradable and not always recyclable. Meanwhile cardboard can be just as effective as plastic from a practical standpoint, while also being more ecologically sound. But reducing the volume of CO2 released into the atmosphere is about more than just what the packaging is made out of.

More important is the amount of packaging that goes into protecting and promoting a product. Some companies can irk customers and eco-campaigners alike by using layer after layer of unnecessary plastic, card and paper where it is simply not needed.

Using too much packaging has the added effect of consuming more energy and emitting more carbon early in the life of the product. So before it has even been unboxed by customers, it will have left an indelible mark on the environment.

If you can revise your packaging design to use up fewer resources, your company’s carbon footprint will shrink over night. And for brands that have a conscience, this is a vital step to take.

Boost Sales

Modern consumers are much more mindful of the products they buy and where they come from. This goes for both the origin of an item and the way it is packaged.

So, if you are selling something which is tied in with a broader brand ethos of sustainability, social conscience or ethical worthiness, the packaging has to be in line with these same ideals.

Get it right, and you could help to increase sales, engage more effectively with your target audience and gain momentum in a competitive marketplace. Get it wrong, and you might dilute the impact of your “woke” brand and turn off potential customers.

Environmental friendliness is a selling point in its own right, and if your packaging has been altered to boost its sustainability, this is something to shout about. You can tap into new markets even if the product itself is not related to eco-issues.

Reduce Costs

It may seem obvious, but using fewer packaging materials and optimising the overall design will usually allow you to save money on manufacturing. And if margins are tight, this could be a major motivation for making a change.

The costs of materials can fluctuate along with supply and demand. And outside influences on the economy will mean that prices will invariably waver over time. But if you package products sustainably and without unnecessary waste, you will be insulated against any unexpected shifts.

You might even find that changing to a packaging material that is biodegradable can be cheaper than non-degradable alternatives. Although of course this depends on the nature of the packaging you are using at the moment and the viability of such an option.

For some brands, cost increases will actually be involved in becoming more sustainable. But thankfully there are a number of ways in which these can be offset.

Streamline Shipping

The bigger the package, the more space the product will take up when it is shipped to stores and delivered to customers. This reduces the efficiency of the delivery and distribution process, means that more environmental damage is being done to get your products out into the world, and eats into your annual budget at the same time.

Opting to reduce packaging and embrace sustainability ensures that the trucks and vans which carry your products to retail outlets will be filled more efficiently, slashing emissions and saving you cash on fuel.

Sustainable materials may also be lighter, so with less weight to the packaging it will require less energy to transport. All of these little optimisations can add up to have a sizable cumulative effect, so this is a savvy move in more ways than one.

Save On Storage

Further benefits come from the way that sustainable packaging strategies enhance the storage process. If your products sit in a warehouse at some point, then more space they occupy, the more you will have to pay to keep them safe and sound.

Reducing packaging will let you store products in greater numbers while freeing up warehouse capacity. And customers will appreciate this change as well.

If your product is going to end up in a kitchen cupboard, its size could determine its saleability. The more compact and convenient the form factor, the more likely it will appeal to people who do not have huge amounts of room at home.

If, on the other hand, a consumer buys your product for the first time and finds that the packaging makes storage a problem, they are unlikely to engage with your brand again. So in terms of early impressions, sustainability wins the day.

Encourage Re-Use

Being able to promote a product based on the degradability of its packaging is one way to ensure sustainability, but there are other options.

For example, you could package your products in a way that makes them easy to store and use until the original contents is consumed, with a re-sealable lid or re-closable tab making a big difference. And if it is reused for something else, then your branding will stick around in a customer’s consciousness for longer.

Invest In Sustainable Packaging

Get in touch with us here at Lakeside Products if you want to learn more about the sustainable packaging options we offer and the benefits they bring to the table.