How Retailers Can Make the Switch to Eco-Packaging
This holiday season, Americans are looking to spread some cheer by spending on gifts, food and décor, and they’re increasingly choosing the most eco-friendly options available.
Frequently dubbed “The Most Wasteful Time of Year,” the Christmas holiday has a well-documented effect on the environment. As waste left over from days of celebration breaks down in landfills, toxic methane is released into the atmosphere, raising global temperatures. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day alone Americans collectively produce 25 percent more waste, amounting to 25 million tons of garbage destined for landfills.
That includes the 30 million trees which are used to produce gift wrap during the holidays, 2.65 billion Christmas cards which could fill a football field 10 stories high, and holiday lights which consume enough energy to power 400,000 homes for a year. But the main offenders at this most wonderful time of the year are unsurprisingly packaging, presents, and food waste, with single-use plastics taking the cake for having one of the worst effects on the environment.
Though it may be a festive season, Americans are saying enough to this culture of excess and they’re finding ways to sensibly enjoy holidays with all the trimmings. Despite dampened spending due to inflation pressures, the 2022 Deloitte Holiday Survey revealed that American consumers prioritized celebrating the holidays this year and they’re opting to buy gifts for others over non gift purchases. Thirty-nine percent of these gift givers said they intended to choose sustainable presents when possible, while 41 percent said they preferred to buy from retailers that adopted sustainable practices.
Americans are still spending for Christmas and thanks to the post-COVID e-commerce boom, shopping online is yet another avenue for generating massive amounts of plastic waste. Consumers want to enjoy the holidays, but not at the expense of the planet. They’re calling on businesses to show more leadership on issues of sustainability and climate change. With 57 percent of Americans planning to buy their Christmas gifts online this year, retailers have a golden opportunity to do their part in the war against plastic pollution and reap the reputational benefits that come with the territory.
On the other hand, businesses that fail to consider the environment run the risk of getting dumped in favor of greener alternatives. Not only are consumers across all generations, spanning from Gen Z to boomers, willing to pay more for products from eco-friendly businesses, they’re also punitive towards those that don’t make an effort to be greener.
The good news is it doesn’t take much for retailers to blast plastic from their supply chain. Here are easy ways to get started:
1. Choose the right compostable packaging.
Reliable packaging is the lifeblood of a successful e-commerce operation. A retailer’s packaging speaks volumes about its values so it’s essential that businesses choose the correct shipping option to send the right message to customers. Some obvious don’ts apply here:
- Don’t send a small item in a big box. Consumers view excess packaging as wasteful and unnecessary.
- Don’t over package items.
- Don’t send items in inappropriate containers.
One-hundred percent compostable boxes and mailers are both lightweight, compact, and reliable choices. Please note compostable isn't the same as biodegradable. The former will happily break down in your average garden compost while the latter often needs industrial composting and isn't plastic-free. That’s right, many biodegradable products actually break down into microplastics, not dirt!
2. Protect fragile items in transit with recycled and/or compostable materials.
Avoid costly and polluting plastic bubble wrap and opt for scrap paper like newspapers and ripped up magazines to insulate fragile items. Retailers can also purchase recycled, recyclable and compostable hex wrap to boost aesthetic appeal. Corn starch and wheat-based packing peanuts are another great option. They will simply dissolve in water or can be easily thrown in the compost.
3. Offer to send items "nude."
Retailers can save on packaging materials by offering to send items with minimal packaging. Customers will appreciate the gesture and more often than not opt to receive items with less packaging. Whether they be freebies or extra padding for their items, retailers can learn a lot about consumer behavior by seeing which items they choose to opt out from. These insights should lead businesses to a better understanding of how to further reduce package sizes and increase the efficiency of their e-commerce operations.
Finally, as online orders surge this holiday season it’s essential that retailers embrace fully compostable mailing solutions to drastically cut down on plastic waste. As the balance continues to tip towards the zero-waste movement, customers are dumping environmentally unfriendly brands in droves.
Don’t let packaging be an afterthought this holiday season and in the new year.
Anaita Sarkar is the founder of Hero Packaging, a company that makes Earth-saving, home-compostable, zero-waste packaging products.
Anaita Sarkar is the co-founder of Hero Packaging. Hero Packaging was Australia’s first Australian owned and certified retail compostable company and have just celebrated their three year anniversary.
Growing up in a family that owned a small business, Anaita began her working career behind the reception desk and she therefore fully understands the challenges small businesses face on a daily basis. After studying a Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in Accounting, Anaita soon realized the accounting industry wasn’t for her and moved into media. Within her first year she was promoted twice and began presenting at meetings whilst a junior, which at the time was not standard practice. In 2013 Anaita began guest lecturing marketing subjects at Macquarie University and whilst pregnant with her second child, Anaita started her first e-commerce business. Anaita is also author of the digital marketing book, “Sell Anything Online."
