Four Sustainable Practices for eCommerce Retailers
Fun fact, 74% of Australian eCommerce consumers have said they would actually pay more for a product with sustainable packaging. How ahh-mazing is that!
As you can tell, we’re a little excited about that, because it means your business’s packaging can be kinder to the planet, and most consumers will actually support you in doing so.
So, while we’re both on an environmental high, let’s go through our four tips to help you become more sustainable in your packaging and shipping.
1. Switch to sustainable packaging alternatives
A good place to start is by phasing out your unsustainable packaging and switching them over to their alter-‘eco’s’, like...
- Trading-in that plastic mailer satchel, destined to become tomorrow’s ocean trash, for one of our beautifully coloured 100% Compostable Mailers made from corn starch. Choose from The Midnight, Fairy Floss, or Glacier, depending on your brand’s vibe, and look good while being eco-conscious with a mailer that breaks down like Carrie when Big leaves her at the altar.
- Swap out your bubble wrap for the paper alternative, Geami. Not only is it significantly kinder to the environment by being 100% recyclable and free of plastic, but it looks a gazillion times better!
- Instead of packing peanuts, take a time machine into the 21st century with Packleo’s void fill solution, Paperbark. It’s our natural, organic Kraft Wrapping Paper made of 100% recycled materials to fill all those spaces in your mailer boxes with style and environmental finesse.
- For those who love the ‘au naturel’ feel, ditch the pre-paid plastic satchel for our Queen B paper honeycomb mailer and get crazy in love with keeping your products protected while still looking minimalistic and organic.
But wait, there’s more! Making the switch to one of these sustainable superheroes will also give your customers a better chance to close the loop and dispose of your packaging in a way that will help the earth, not harm it.
2. Reducing waste
Our motto is, it doesn’t become waste if you don’t need to use it in the first place. Over-packaging is a big culprit for waste, and understandably so! We try so hard to protect our precious products from the turmoils of transit but can sometimes miss the line between the right amount and overkill. And you know what? We are stoked for you to buy less of our product, if it means you're putting less waste back into landfill.
3. Choosing a carbon neutral shipping provider
Something you may not haven’t considered is the environmental impact of shipping your products — don’t worry you’re not the only one. The logistics industry is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and with more businesses going online, their impact is only expected to grow.
While you can't directly make the industry more environmentally friendly, choosing a carbon-neutral shipping provider is the best way to do your part. There are many providers out there that are doing great things in the logistics world and are 100% carbon neutral. This means that any CO2e they emit through shipping your goods is cancelled out, so their net release into the atmosphere is zero. Pretty cool, hey!
4. Reusing packaging from suppliers
Picture this, you’ve just received your timely, perfectly packaged Packleo delivery — congrats by the way. You’ve unpacked it, put away all your super cool, eco-friendly, and design-led packaging supplies and are about to break it down and recycle the carton. Well, stop (collaborate and listen), instead of closing the loop on this carton give it a second lease on life and use it again for shipping or to store something. Why stop there with the packaging repurposing, you can also reuse Geami as gift wrap or Kraft Paper as drawing paper for the kiddies!
While it might seem like we’ve still got a mountain to climb, a few simple changes can make the biggest difference in getting us all towards a more sustainable future. Don’t be shy! Take your first step and shop our range of eco-friendly packaging solutions.
Packleo thinks that being kind to the environment doesn’t mean your packaging has to be boring, which is why we’re determined to bringing packaging joy to small businesses.
Packleo Packaging Joy.
