It’s no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has made us all reassess what’s important, and the way we shop is no exception.

Today, consumers are conscious of their personal impact on the planet. Now more than ever there’s an expectation for brands to deliver on sustainability across all aspects of their operations.

Retailers must work harder to meet the demands of conscious consumerism, your brand’s and the planet’s survival depend on it.

Shipping is an essential part of running an ecommerce business, but the way items are shipped and packaged is having an enormous impact on the environment – and consumers are taking note.

Here are some innovative ways brands across the industry are tackling packaging with the environment in mind:

Allbirds

Sustainable footwear brand, Allbirds adopt a single-box solution when it comes to packaging. Each shoebox is made up of 90% post-consumer cardboard and is entirely recycled. The brand has also gone one step further and imposed a carbon tax on themselves to offset the emissions that come from producing their shoes.

Boxed Water

Taking innovation to a whole new level, Boxed Water is the only company on this list where the brand’s product is its sustainable packaging. In a market saturated by single-use plastic, Boxed Water is the water that stands out from the crowd. The brand’s water is packaged in a cardboard box and is 100% recyclable. What’s even more incredible about this product is that it has an incredibly low carbon footprint – Boxed Water can be shipped flat to refilling stations so fewer trucks are required to transport the product.

Alima Pure

Natural cosmetics brand, Alima Pure uses soy-based refillable palettes and boxes to package its products, each made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper and printed using eco-friendly soy-based inks. Also, because the brand’s products are refillable, they significantly reduce plastic and chemical waste.

A Good Company

Eco-friendly brand, A Good Company is on a mission to transform mindless consumption into conscious decisions, at the heart of this is their sustainable packaging. A carbon negative company, they use stone paper as their packaging material of choice.

PVH

Apparel giant, PVH which owns brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, has made it their goal to use 100% sustainable and ethically sourced packaging by 2025. The company is already making huge strides in achieving this: 74% of their packaging is now fully recyclable.

What’s more, PVH became the first apparel retailer to join How2Recycle. This initiative provides customers with details on how to recycle packaging that items come in, such as whether to consult a local recycling program or to use a store drop-off station at an independent retailer.

Unwrapped Life

Determined to prevent over 20 million plastic bottles from entering our oceans by 2025, Unwrapped Life is a beauty brand that eliminates plastic from their packaging process. In fact, to date, the brand has prevented over 1.5 million plastic bottles from being manufactured, and they’re just getting started. Their signature shampoo and conditioner come wrapped in compostable paper, leaving behind virtually no waste, and is a big hit amongst consumers. They have also adopted this no waste mentality in other areas of their operations, making their entire fulfillling and shipping process paperless.

Reformation

With sustainability at the centre of everything they do, Reformation takes environmentally conscious packaging to the next level by delivering products in vegetable bags which are plastic free and compostable. Once a bag has been used, it can simply be added to organic waste where it’s left to breakdown. Even the brand’s clothes hangers are bio-based, with each hanger made of recycled paper to minimise the demand for new materials and reduce landfill waste.

What next?

Making your brand more eco-friendly can seem daunting at first, particularly when you’re a big brand that’s scaling quickly, but switching to greener packaging alternatives is a great place to start. The future of your business depends on it.

By embracing more sustainable practices, you’ll not only contribute to the health of the planet but also your bottom line. So, start today so you can continue to succeed in the future.