In recent years, the Packaging industry has seen a significant transformation in consumer demand and growing concern about the environment. The era of plastic packaging is gradually reducing, transforming into a new paradigm of Sustainable packaging.
As consumers become more concerned, the demand for sustainable packaging has increased to 81% as of January 2023.
You enter a shopping mart and grab the shopping cart with a mission to find products with only Sustainable packaging.
You find plastic products and attractive packaging with eye-grabbing designs, but most of these are made up of unsustainable packaging.
Doesn’t that scenario happen often?
But what If businesses start using sustainable packaging materials? Consumers will start demanding it, making it one of the crucial factors for business success. Durable packaging can help brands and consumers use a product for a long time for years.
Durable packages are eco-friendly and well enough to protect the product from external factors such as climate, moisture, and wear & tear during shipment or storage.
Let’s talk more about durable packaging and how businesses can reduce packaging waste with durable packaging.
Look around your home, office, or locality, and it won’t be hard to spot packaging waste around you. Packaging waste has become normal in our daily lives, from food wrappings to containers and household product containers.
There are tonnes of packaging waste disposed of each year. They simply don’t disappear, and it is taken to landfill sites. Creating increased environmental concerns and other issues, including landfills, health, and pollution.
On the other hand, while the waste is sitting in the landfill, the new packaging materials are manufactured to meet consumers' demands, causing more environmental effects.
Here are some statistics to check out:
In addition, unsustainable packaging often consumes high energy, while manufacturing depletes natural resources and releases harmful greenhouse gases, increasing pollution.
How can brands mitigate these impacts? One way is using “Durable Packaging.”
Durable packaging refers to the packaging and containers that use sustainable packaging materials designed to withstand various environmental conditions.
The packaging ensures the protection of the product during transportation or storage and long-term use with at least a life cycle of five years. In addition, many durable packaging can be reused, and they can be used multiple times before they tear out.
Examples of durable packaging include Aluminium or steel crates, reusable packaging bags made of cellulose, corrugated cardboard boxes, steel drums, Glass jars & bottles, etc...
Here are some benefits of Durable Packaging:
How can brands implement durable packaging?
Shifting from unsustainable packaging to durable packaging can have a positive impact on your brand. It can help to attract an audience, reduce environmental impact, and enhance your sustainability efforts.
Here are some steps businesses can take to reduce packaging waste:
Transparency is vital when it comes to sustainability.
While the ideal way to reduce packaging waste is to reduce consumption and use minimal designs, optioning for sustainable materials can be a more responsible alternative for brands.
The carbon footprints of manufacturing packaging materials depend upon the types of material used and are crucial to minimizing the environmental impacts due to the emissions.
Here are some sustainable materials you can use for packaging:
It’s not just the type of materials that need to be changed to make your packaging sustainable and durable. When it comes to making it durable, focus on making it more reusable and recyclable and reducing the use of materials.
Think of different and unique ways to make your packaging more attractive using sustainable materials and trending packaging design ideas like minimalism. In addition, consider the use of natural elements that match the feel of sustainable packaging.
Here are some things to focus on:
Sustainable packaging design is critical for brands to improve brand value.
Another way brands can make their customers understand the benefits of sustainability is by making them aware of the impact of their daily activities on the environment.
By educating and providing information about sustainability and environmental impact, you can empower customers to make sustainable choices.
For example, Forest Essentials, a luxurious Ayurvedic brand, partners with compostable bag manufacturers to use recyclable PET and glass jars and biodegradable cartons to help the environment.
They use paper-based or air-filled cushions instead of plastic bubble wraps inside the packaging cartoons. In addition, they provide sustainable choices to the customers at offline stores, like cloth carry bags, which are reusable and recyclable.
With sustainability at the forefront, reusable and recyclable packaging has emerged as a powerful solution to reduce environmental issues. Reusable packaging can limit wastage and conserve resources.
It is a sustainable alternative to single-use packaging that can be used in multiple ways by the end consumers. These types of packaging can be reused in different forms as a decorative product, useful product, planting, or also consumed in food products.
For example, the brand Caprea uses biodegradable packaging material embedded with seeds, which can planted to grow plants, flowers, or even vegetables.
Recyclable packaging is the most popular choice among the brands for sustainability. It’s the most simple and adaptive way compared to other options.
The packaging can be recycled at the end of its life, which helps to reduce waste and conserve resources by diverting materials from landfills. It is a process of designing packaging in a way that allows it to be easily taken, sorted, and processed into new ones.
For example, Coca-Cola India partnered with Zepto for the collection and recycling of PET bottles in Mumbai. Consumers can access the “Return of PET bottles” on the Zepto app.
Reducing packaging waste starts with finding durable packaging materials and redesigning your products. If you use durable materials, you can make it more sustainable and use less packaging altogether.
In addition, the recyclable, reusable, and reducing carbon footprint in manufacturing can be an approach brands can take towards sustainability growth.
At Bizongo Desworks, we help brands improve their brand value by adopting sustainable materials, designs, and elements to reduce environmental impact.
Are you approaching sustainability? Reach out to us!