Research shows that almost all audience groups of 54 world-leading brands care about sustainable lifestyles. This means that consumers are doing their research and expecting more from the companies they buy from.
As a business owner, the packaging of your product is just another part of your process. But the truth is packaging can create a lot of waste, and so can shipping. In fact, by 2050, shipping emissions could make up 17% of all global CO2 emissions. Since consumers today care deeply about who they are buying from and the impact their purchase makes on the environment, utilizing an eco-friendly shipping process could be the difference between any business and its competition.
Here’s how businesses are dropping the ball when it comes to creating a sustainability-focused shipping strategy, and what you can do as a business owner to both appeal to your customers and drive more sales.
Using Non-Recycled Corrugated Boxes
We know what you’re thinking, “Of course they’re going to say that.” But hear us out.
Using recycled shipping boxes makes a measurable difference when it comes to an eco-friendly shipping process. Corrugated boxes are the easiest packaging to source, and almost 77% of all cardboard is recycled. It’s an easy first step to take for any business to become more eco-friendly.
When sourcing, it’s important to ask your supplier about their definition of a recycled box. Why? There is a difference between a recyclable box and a box made from recycled materials. The latter is what will truly create an eco-friendly shipping process. At Brandable Box, our boxes are made from 100% recycled materials, but that may not be the case with every other corrugated box supplier.
Make sure you ask before you buy so you understand how your boxes will contribute to your eco-shipping. While there aren’t electric shipping fleets just yet, a business can still be comfortable knowing part of their shipping process is eco-friendly through recycled corrugated boxes.
If corrugated boxes don’t fit your business model, there are other alternatives that are just as eco-friendly.
Using Non-Recyclable Packaging Filler
You know the type. We’re talking packing peanuts or styrofoam inserts that spill out of the box when you open it and stick to everything. These fillers are not only frustrating for a customer to deal with, but most of it isn’t made from recycled materials.
In fact, styrofoam never breaks down. This means the packing peanuts that have been shipped out since the 60s are still in landfills today. That’s a lot of packing peanuts.
When a business chooses to use this kind of filler for its shipping, its eco-friendly shipping becomes just shipping. Overusing this kind of filling can cancel out any efforts a business has made to ensure an eco-friendly shipping process and turn customers away.
If you’re interested in alternatives to styrofoam and packing peanuts, explore these sustainable alternatives or this packing paper to help support your eco-shipping process.
Not Encouraging End Consumers to Recycle their Shipping Boxes
Using shipping boxes made from recycled materials is only half the battle. To tie a bow on your business’s eco-friendly shipping strategy, you’ll need to think about what your customers do with your box after they’ve opened it. Your goal is to get your end consumers to recycle their boxes.
Include a note encouraging customers to recycle. Make it about them. When customers feel like they have the chance to make an impact and do good, they are more likely to take action.
Make sure your boxes arrive looking good. Consumers are more likely to throw something away rather than recycle if the packaging looks distorted. If a business uses corrugated boxes, they’re less likely to send a consumer a distorted package.
Another way to encourage your customers to recycle is to live out the sustainability model yourself and talk about it to your customers. The more transparent a business is when it comes to having an eco-friendly shipping process, the stronger the relationship is between brand and customer. The shared values and responsibilities can encourage customers to take action and recycle their packaging.
Implementing just one of these steps will help you create an eco-friendly shipping process. Ready to take eco-friendly stand and get more customers?