Sustainable Packaging Solutions for Online Retailers

British online retailers need to focus on sustainability more than ever before, with 82% of consumers in the country citing the importance of brands practising it in some way or another. One of the easiest ways to make a difference in eCommerce is for businesses to update their approach to online retail packaging.

This blog will explore the concept of sustainable packaging for online retailers, so eCommerce businesses can reduce their environmental impact in one of the most straightforward ways.

Embracing recycled & recyclable materials
Choosing recycled and recyclable packaging materials is a surefire way to enhance the lifecycle of said materials, helping to reduce the waste ending up in landfills. Things like boxes, poly mailers and void fillers are classic choices in terms of recycled materials, coming from a wide variety of sources. Plastics like polyethylene (LDPE) is often used by online retailers packaging as it is lightweight and recyclable.

Recycling to reduce pollution
There are choices within recycled plastic that also actively contribute to the cleaning up of pollution, such as Oceanix Collation Shrink Film. This shrink film is crafted from maritime waste – a significant element of oceanic pollution – including fishing nets and ropes, in a closed-loop recycling process. Choices like these kill two birds with one stone, embracing recycling and restoring environments all at once.

Lightening the load
Material efficiency – reducing the amount of eCommerce packaging materials used – is known to effectively minimise a carbon footprint. Lightweight, thinner packaging materials are made with less raw materials and energy, reducing waste and emissions from production, while also being more efficient for transport, reducing emissions during shipping.

Good lightweight shipping materials include:

• Plastic shrink films
• Thinner plastic bottles
• Polythene mailing bags

Minimising packaging approaches
In a similar vein to choosing lighter materials, online retailers can also make an effort by minimising their packaging designs. This means only using the packaging necessary for the products, without any excess padding and minimal ink usage.

Choosing sustainable materials
Beyond traditional materials, online retailers can also branch out into more sustainable solutions. This means packaging that’s been made from more renewable materials, such as mailing bags from biobased GreenPE derived from sugarcane ethanol, a drop in solution for manufacturers, and a carbon negative material backed up by an LCA.

Choosing the right partners
Whatever direction you choose to go in, it’s vital to choose the right packaging partners. By working with reliable, environmentally-minded businesses, you can reduce your focus on this side of operations and pay more attention to increasing sales and reaching customers.

If you’re interested in discovering smart online retail solutions, visit us at DUO UK today – we connect online retailers with new materials and packaging options to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact effectively.