Planning for a waste-free Black Friday

Black Friday has become a key date in retailers and consumers calendar and is getting bigger and bigger every year. Polythene mailing bags play a vital role in the success of Black Friday sales as they pack and protect consumer’s orders to their destination. But what happens to the polythene mailing bags after they have completed their primary purpose?

Data from Shopify has revealed that 53% of UK shoppers are allocating more money to spend during Black Friday & Cyber Monday than in previous years.* However, an increase in spend can result in an increase in returned items. Last year over 350,000 parcels were returned to retailers between Black Friday & Christmas and over 50,000 parcels between Christmas and New Years Day.**

This surge of returns can present a huge challenge for retailers and result in an increase in volume of packaging waste such as polythene mailing bags. The waste packaging presents an opportunity to contribute to a circular economy for plastics by recycling waste polythene mailing bags in a closed loop recycling system.

Here are our top tips to have a waste-free Black Friday:

Segregate waste based on material

Polythene mailing bags tend to be heavily contaminated with paper postal labels so by segregating these from clear repack bags can help you achieve a higher value for your polythene waste. Plus, recycling plastic reduces the need for new plastic, saving natural resources, energy and carbon and helps towards a circular economy for plastic.

Repack returns in protective clear repack bags

Re–pack and protect returned garments ready for resale using clear polythene bags. Duo’s stock range of clear re-pack bags contain a minimum of 30% recycled polythene as standard.

Provide a re-usable mailing bag

When it comes to re-designing your mailing bags, make them re-usable by adding a second glue line. This provides your consumers with a re-usable packaging item giving your mailing bags a second use. Returned polythene mailing bags can be recycled in a closed loop recycling system.

Are you ready for a waste-free Black Friday? Our team is here to help you whether you want to find more about adopting our top tips or how to close the loop on the polythene waste in your business. Get in touch by emailing enquiries@duo-uk.co.uk or +44 0161 203 5767.

Sources:

*Retail Gazette

** Retail Voices