Eco-Friendly Packaging Ideas For Your Business

I’m a small business owner and packaging is important. My brand is eco-friendly so I thought it was a good idea to write about Eco-Friendly Packaging Ideas for your business.

Lately, eco-friendly is popular and becoming increasingly popular as people are starting to be more aware of the earth. I know I am making more attempts at using products that aren’t polluting the earth or made with possible contaminants.

We as a community are becoming more conscious of what we are using and eating. But also brands are becoming more earth-friendly as they look for eco-friendly products and packaging. It doesn’t matter which business you are in, eco-friendly packaging is always a good start, from gummy packaging ideas to cleaning products, the more we focus on being sustainable the better we can provide for our planet.

So if you are a business or you sell things online, it may be wise to consider some eco-friendly types of packaging.

If you market your business as ‘eco-friendly’ and using biodegradable packaging, then make sure every element is under this nature.

Here are some tips for cheap packaging ideas.

Eco-Friendly Packaging Ideas For Your Business

Boxes

Boxes are able to be recycled for the most part, there are occasions where it can not be. Especially if there is plastic included with it as a window.

If you want kraft bags for example and need biodegradable options, the windows can be made out of biodegradable products.

Keeping the packaging small is also beneficial as you are not wasting money or products. One item to consider is Cardboard Envelopes which come in a range of sizes and reduce the need for large packaging, fillings and can tightly hold your items securely.

We have all been there when we ordered something small and it comes in a huge box, covered with plastic tape and peanuts. I collect them and reuse them. If I know I am selling to a business, I will pop a note in to reuse the packaging. Every little helps, right?

Keep your boxes within a similar size of what you are sending out and if you are sending out several products or products which are fragile, go a little bigger but include a lot of padding. You don’t want breakage, but a large box with a small glass bottle for example means it has a higher risk of breaking.

Padding/Stuffing

If you are sending out boxes and you are looking to use some form of padding or stuffing, why not look for options that are more earth-friendly.

Commonly people will use foam, polystyrene and things such as peanuts or chips (the foamy white things that get everywhere!) but the majority of the time they are not biodegradable.

There are eco-friendly and compostable options. But also consider using shredded cardboard or paper.

Plastic bubble wrap, as good as it is is not biodegradable. Not the stuff you buy generally. However, you can find places that do sell biodegradable options by a simple Google search and I would recommend looking into this as an option.

If it is able to be recycled, then it is wise to consider what will benefit you but also keep the costs low.

Tape

Not many people think about this, but tape is predominantly plastic. But I have switched to Kraft tape as it is just as sturdy and you can get one with threads in them. Think Amazon packaging, they use paper-based tape that has threads in to keep it secure and safe.

Switching to a safer tape is important as this will stop the build-up of plastic-based products but also keep your packaging safe.

You can also get some beautiful paper-based tapes that have bright colours on or even biodegradable glitter. Make it fun!

Remove plastics

Glass for example, is becoming very cheap and I found that most of the time glass is much cheaper than plastic.

If you are able to switch from plastic to glass, for example for sprays or skincare, or even get wholesale perfume bottles for fragrances, then it’s something to consider. You can also get coloured glass in amber or blue to protect the product so it is offering a wonderful way to look after the earth, but also the item contained in the bottle/jar.

Remove plastic bags and use kraft bags instead if you sell items such as salts or sugar scrubs. Make sure if there is a window on them, they are biodegradable.

If you still want to use plastic-type containers, then use biodegradable options. You can also get natural ones that will break down in a composter.

Try to be considerate if you are promoting earth-friendly and eco-friendly that you are using products that are biodegradable.

Promote recycling

It’s super important you are promoting recycling. Whether it is recycling the contents of the box and packaging, or you are offering an incentive.

You will see some companies offer a service whereby you can send your empty containers back for a free item or a discount. This is a great way to offer your customers something back to return their packaging to you. You can then sterilise, clean, and reuse the packaging.

I sell items that are in glass and I offer them to send them back for discounts.

Also if you sell something you can refill, like candles for example, you can offer them a larger discount for a refill.

Final thoughts

Being conscious about the earth is hard work and there is a lot to think about. However, taking little steps and searching for products that are biodegradable is important.

Have you taken steps to make your business more earth-friendly? What little gems did you find that kept the costs low or looked amazing?

Copyright: Image by StockUnlimited

*This is a collaboration post