Sustainable delivery packaging on the rise. Is plastic on the way out?
Every second, hundreds of packages are delivered to consumers across Europe. The rising popularity of online shopping has led to year-on-year growth, and there’s still no end in sight. With the rise of all these packages, there is a growing demand for sustainable packaging. And that brings with it the question of what’s the best, most sustainable packaging? Although many resellers try to reduce their packaging and waste, there is still need for strong, stable packaging. Plenty of products need to be packed in plastic or cardboard because of safety, fragility, risk, or theft concerns. So where should you begin to make your packaging solutions more sustainable?
Alternatives for cardboard and plastic
There are more sustainable alternatives to traditional cardboard and plastics available today. The market is ready, and resellers are starting to adopt them. Consumers are becoming more aware of plastic pollution, so it is not a question of if but when new packaging solutions will be launched. Although the price of sustainable alternatives is still slightly higher than normal plastic, the potential for new packaging solutions is huge.
Mailers from pulp and agricultural waste
Since 2018, PlasticFri has been working on sustainable alternatives for plastic packaging, and they’ve made significant strides. The Swedish scaleup has been awarded multiple prizes for their alternative to plastic solution, including the distincion of “World’s Most Innovative Sustainability Startup” among 1400 companies worldwide. In 2021, they invented a sustainable mailer. PlasticFri offers unique, high-quality mailers that are a perfect value-added alternative for any reseller looking to significantly reduce their carbon footprint and make the best first impression on their clients. The new mailer is made from wood pulp and agricultural waste, it’s certified, recyclable as paper, and has a unique feel, but with the same comfort as the plastic equivalents. It’s also been tried and tested by several international resellers. Although mailers aren’t the right solution for every product, there is immense potential in PlasticFri’s technology platform. The company already has 8 products on the market and has sold more than 10 million products in the last few months.
Competitive pricing?
In larger quantities, PlasticFri is already cost competitive with plastics and bioplastics. And although PlasticFri products may still be more expensive than conventional plastic products, they represent one of the most affordable options on the market, while providing a unique environmental value proposition.
PlasticFri founders Allen & Max: “We are on a mission to end the plastics pollution catastrophe. It took us several years to develop sustainable alternatives and it is clear that more companies and consumers are now ready to support our mission. We look forward to the next phase of our journey and welcome companies and organizations by supporting them in reducing their environmental footprint, moving towards circular economy, and reaching their sustainability targets.”
The future of sustainable packaging
There’s still a long way to go towards replacing all plastic mailers with alternatives. As more packaging specialists and innovators join the market, the price of these alternatives will get more attractive over time. So the question is not if some of the plastic mailers will be replaced, it’s when.
In August PlasticFri is launching a pilot with Econnections partner bol.com. The company wants to take this opportunity to see how this alternative to plastic seal bags could work to deliver products to customers. After the pilot, bol.com and PlasticFri will evaluate the results to see if and how it can be implemented on a larger scale as part of the bol.com fulfilment process.
