When it comes to sustainable corrugated box packaging, choosing the right box is half the battle. When your shipping process is environmentally conscious, you’re not only benefitting the earth, but also your business and its customers.
Check out some of these protective yet eco-friendly packaging options to shrink your company’s carbon footprint without sacrificing shipping safety.
Go For Structure
When shipping fragile products, it is important to ensure that product movement and excess air are at a minimum. Instead of protecting your packages with fluff materials like bubble wrap or packing peanuts, consider securing them in place with various packing structures.
Materials like cardboard cut-outs and molded pulp are great ways to ensure your product stays safe as it ships with less harm to the environment. These materials are often made from 100% recyclable materials and can be made to fit the exact size of your products.
PLA Thermoform trays are another effective way to secure your packages as they ship. Biodegradable versions consist of a thin plastic layer that molds to fit the exact size of your product. This way, your package contents won’t move around throughout the shipping process and can avoid damage.
These structural methods of protecting your shipments also allow you to present your products in a way that you intend for your customers to see. Materials like molded pulp and PLA Thermoform trays provide many functionality advantages and are far more aesthetically pleasing to customers than packing peanuts and other environmentally-harmful cushioning options.
Eco-Friendly Options
If bubble wrap seems to be the best option for protecting your products during shipping, consider similar cushioning options that better preserve the environment. Sustainable alternatives exist for almost all forms of packaging and often cost roughly the same as non-eco-friendly options.
Materials like Honeycomb kraft paper provide the same effect and protection as plastic bubble wrap but are 100% recyclable. They also have the ability to expand and stretch, making them a great protectant for glass and ceramic products during shipping.
Biodegradable packing peanuts provide the same level of protection as regular packing peanuts. Given their ability to dissolve in water, they can help your business cut down on waste significantly. Reducing waste helps sustain the environment for years to come.
Kraft paper air cushions made from recycled paper can also serve as plastic air cushions that don’t pollute the environment as heavily. Lined with plastic made of biodegradable starch, these sustainable cushions can be broken down in paper processing plants.
Use What You Have
Investing in biodegradable packaging materials isn’t the only way to ship your products sustainably. Instead of purchasing materials like biodegradable bubble wrap rolls or molded pulp trays, reuse the materials around you.
Consider using crumpled-up pages of old newspapers and magazines, or reusing packaging materials that you have from orders you have received. You could also shred old office papers, documents or junk mail to make your own recycled packaging.
This option is not only the most cost-effective packaging solution, but it also eliminates your company’s waste substantially. When you reuse what you have as protective shipping materials, you’ll save money while also reducing your carbon footprint.
Consider adding these environmentally-friendly packaging options to your company’s shipping regimen. When you take care of the earth, everyone benefits. If you’re ready to move towards sustainable packaging and shipping material and reduce your company’s waste, call Express Packaging today. Ditch the plastic packaging and let us help get your packages on their way, the right way.
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