4 ways to achieve sustainability with corrugated packaging materials In the mid-1990s, the entrepreneur John Elkington coined the 3 P’s framework- Profit, People and Planet- to measure sustainability. Since then, sustainable growth has been a key concern for all industries and organisations all over the world. Currently, the corrugated packaging industry is growing rapidly at 3.7% annually and expected to reach 300 billion dollars by 2023. So, it is essential that such growth is complemented by a fine balance between social equity, environmental protection and economic prosperity. So, let’s discuss the four steps that the industry can take to achieve sustainability.. 1. Remove: shift to reusable packaging The companies using corrugated packaging materials can switch to reusable packaging concepts and get rid of single-use corrugated packaging altogether. For example, in 2019 the Danish brand Ganni started using reusable packaging by Finnish brand Re-pack. The reusable mailer is created from a mix of recycled plastic and cardboard and can be reused 20 times and is recyclable. The price of returning the packaging is covered by Re-pack who incentivise customer returns through discount vouchers. Similarly, the US casualwear label, Toad & Co. also utilise reusable mailers produced by US startup LimeLoop. Recycled Vinyl is used to manufacture such mailers and these can be sent back through mail. LimeLoop has proclaimed that roughly nine million litres of water and thirteen hundred trees are saved for every hundred mailers utilized.. 2. Reduce: look past lightweighting Companies are also discovering other innovative ways to cut down on the packaging they use. Efforts have been made to downsize marketing materials such as swing tags, remove the branded paper wrapping. Furthermore, the absence of dyes and bleaches in production of corrugated packaging results in enhancement of recyclabilty potential and diminished footprints. For example, the British apparel group, Internet Fusion, are using the latest CPV-500 packaging technology to eliminate the need for void filling. Internet Fusion announce that the removal of void packaging has resulted in the reduction of 11 km 3 of cardboard a year, 90 less lorries delivering products and saving of 5600 trees! 3. Reuse: repurpose the packaging and incentivise consumers towards it. Companies have launched repurposing and reuse drives to optimize the life-span of their packaging. They have also set up closed-loop systems to assure for longevity of their packaging materials. They are also implementing smart communications to motivate their customers to reuse their packaging too. For example, the company Zara has been reusing the corrugated boxes it ships from its distribution centres to its stores up to six times before they are recycled into new packaging. It launched a closed-loop system to assure that its boxes are turned into new boxes - bypassing the possible leakage in existing paper and cardboard recycling schemes. Presently, 56% of online orders come in these recycled boxes. The Australian direct-to-consumer toilet paper brand, Who Gives a Crap, uses cheeky messaging and graphics on their corrugated boxes, in sync with their jovial brand identity to motivate their customers to reuse the boxes their dispatch came in.. 4. Recycle: conceive the packaging with end-of-life in mind. Corrugated cardboard is derived from environment friendly, recyclable packaging materials such as old newspapers and used cardboard cartons. Corrugated packaging is composed of recycled materials mostly (70 to 90 percent), which gives it a significant edge over wood and plastic packaging. This recycling and reusing of corrugated cardboard materials has a cascading effect, serving to diminish the energy and other resources needed to manufacture it in the first place. While corrugated packaging materials are quite convenient to recycle, still companies can make that process much smoother. For example, the British apparel group, Internet Fusion advocates removing metal eyelets on swing tags and using gum tape. Other suggestions include choosing brown paper over coloured or white paper, avoiding void filling and if the void filling is absolutely necessary, using cardboard filling and non-toxic glue on pallets rather than using shrink wrap.
