Today just about every company is talking about “going green”. Brands are levelling up their sustainable practices to lessen their impact on the environment. Since we launched our Ready2Recycle range in 2019, many businesses have come to us to source mono material packaging, with the aim of actively reducing their carbon footprint.
Both consumer packaged goods companies and shoppers are placing more emphasis on green initiatives including eco-friendly packaging. According to Nielsen, 75% of Millennials say they are willing to change their habits to reduce their impact on the environment, and 90% are willing to pay more for products that contain environmentally friendly or sustainable ingredients.
Wherever you are on your sustainability journey, you may want to consider the following ways to go green in today’s environment:
Rethink your packaging as a whole
The materials used in packaging make a difference to your environmental impact.
Considering using eco-friendly and recyclable packaging, such as PE/PE laminated film structures, is going in the right direction of greater sustainability. Most are already suitable for store drop-off recycling programs such as the one recently introduced by Tesco.
Using recycled content for flexible packaging has significant environmental advantages, such as reducing energy consumption and the extraction of finite resources, because reprocessing existing plastics uses less energy and fossil fuels.
Downgauge the materials utilised
We often come across products that are over-packaged or packaging that is overspec’d.
Over the years, we have helped a number of our customers to review their full packaging range by downgauging material specs wherever possible without compromising the integrity of the packaging or the freshness and quality of the products within.
When new clients approach us for new projects, we always consider the products they want to pack, how they are going to pack it and where the packed products are going to be stored and distributed, so we can offer the most suitable packaging – fit for purpose but using the least resources.
Minimise the added features
Brands are driven by what they think the consumers want, which often evolves around convenience.
However, we always encourage our customers to consider the actual benefits and impact of adding features that might not be necessary.
Does a bag really need a handle? Why would you need a dispensing spout on a pouch likely to be for single use?
Zippers are a great addition and can have a positive impact, for example by avoiding food waste; this is why we developed our recyclable range of mono material packaging further, to incorporate low sealing PE zipper and Aplix reclosable systems.
Partner with an eco-conscious company
Most of our bags are manufactured in the Far East, mainly Vietnam and Thailand, where recycling – as in everything can be re-used and should serve a purpose – is culturally ingrained.
The rate of processed waste by incoming materials at our main Vietnamese factory site in 2020 was 17.53%.
At the moment, environmental care on carbon emission is at the beginning of its scheme, however our partner factories in Ho Chi Minh City are already actively reducing their footprint by following the Vietnam government guidelines with targeted INDC’s (Intentionally National Determined Contributions) to reduce CO2 emission by a minimum of 8% by 2030.
Use technology to your advantage
There are several ways to connect with your customers, and some can even help you find out if your product is being disposed of correctly.
Through track and trace methods, you can follow a package’s journey from the beginning to the end.
Consumers may use track and trace by scanning the code and learning about sourcing ingredients, the product’s journey from farm to table (or store), and how to properly dispose of the package.
Brand owners can use track and trace to obtain critical information about the supply chain that will help to strengthen logistics and follow that package’s journey to the point of purchase and beyond, all the way through to disposal or recycling.
These are just a few of the ways that you can go green, by starting with eco-friendly packaging. After all, it is the first thing a customer will interact with when choosing your product.
Law Print is also very focused on creating innovative designs that are made in a more efficient way and use more recycled material content, to help our customers and retailers meet the Plastic Tax 2022 target of 30% first, and a commitment to making a greater % of their packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025.
If your brand is looking to invest in quality packaging, we will guide you through the entire print process. Providing recommendations along the way to improve efficiency, reduce costs and add untold value to the end product.
