6 ways you can be more sustainable in your packaging design

It’s inevitable – to sell products, they need to be packaged. What doesn’t have to be inevitable, however, is the damage that extensive packaging is doing to our environment. Continue reading for 6 ways you can be more sustainable in your own packaging design.

1. Use less or smaller packaging.

The first one is kind of a given, but in order to be more sustainable, simply use less. You don’t need a bunch of bubble wrap and then a little box inside a bigger box that’s stuffed with paper and plastic and wrapped in a plastic sleeve. The trick here is to simplify and reduce your packaging. Take one small box or, even better, a postage envelope, and send your products that way. Consider the benefits of a digital cutting table when thinking about designing smaller packaging that reduces the need for tapes and wraps. It saves time, money, and, ultimately, our planet.

2. Use local manufacturing partners or those with sustainable practices.

Sometimes it is necessary to use more packaging and in these instances, do your research. Is there a local manufacturer you could use? Maybe there are manufacturing partners nearby that have more sustainable practices than the ones you’re currently using. Spend some time getting to know your manufacturers and if needs be, switch.

3. Recycle wherever possible and encourage customers to do the same.

When you do have to use several boxes to package products, see what materials you can recycle in your packaging. Similarly, encourage your customers to use the packaging again themselves, or see if ecommerce returns are possible. Ensure products are packaged well enough to limit returns, however. It’s better to be well-packaged than to ship products multiple times due to faults and returns.

4. Multi-purpose packaging.

In the same vein, multi-purpose your packaging. This is a clever marketing tactic to both increase sales and reduce waste. A perfect example of this is this shopping bag from H&M which can be transformed into a clothes hanger after use.

5. Where possible, give customers packaging options to reduce waste.

Like Deliveroo asks their customers whether they need cutlery instead of automatically sending it out, you too could join the movement and give customers options when it comes to their products in order to reduce waste. Offering bulk-shipping options is not only cost-effective for yourself and the customer, but it generates less waste than shipping smaller amounts but doing it more often. For example, customers can opt to wait for multiple products to be shipped together rather than wait for multiple packages over several days.

6. Consider biodegradable packaging.

Some companies like Eco To Go use entirely biodegradable and compostable food packaging, preventing packaging from ending up in landfill. Materials such as paper and carboard are both recyclable and biodegradable and are a great option to consider for your company, whether it’s food-based or not. Some biodegradable plastics emit methane when they are decomposed so it’s best to go for paper or cardboard as it decomposes quickly and can be added to compost heaps at home as well as commercially.