Shipping your eCommerce products is a challenge for any small business. That's why we are offering an earth-friendly alternative to your usual packaging. Fully compostable mailers.
While it might be tempting to spend money and time creating a branded unboxing experience, new research shows that customers care less about how the packaging looks when it arrives than how they feel when they toss it out.
Why might this be?
It’s a long, complicated story involving the US’ fraught relationship with recycling plastics. Many municipalities don’t actually recycle the plastics they collect. Instead, they ship them to countries like China.
In 2018, China banned the imports of mixed paper and plastic, leaving the US in a lurch. As a result, many cities in the US have backtracked on their plastics recycling programs—including recycling plastic bags, poly mailers, and packaging.
Consumers today don’t want to spend their days decoding recycling rules. They want to quickly and sustainably dispose of your packaging and feel good doing it.
According to a survey by Sendle, 57% of consumers said they get frustrated with the amount of packaging the products they order come in.
What better argument is there for keeping it simple?
So why not choose cardboard packaging instead?
Cardboard packaging is more easily recyclable than plastic but presents its own challenges.
While it’s sturdy and great for protecting more fragile items, its weight and lack of flexibility means it takes up more space in trucks and planes.
This leads to more vehicles and trips required, emitting more greenhouse gases as a result. In fact, the transportation sector (which includes shipping and logistics) generates the most greenhouse gases in the US (28.9% of total emissions in 2017).
The answer? Compostable packaging
In some ways, compostable mailers combine the best of both worlds.
They’re lightweight, flexible, easier to transport, and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. All without gumming up the works at recycling plants. Instead, they biodegrade easily in a backyard compost or worm farm.
In addition to the environmental benefits, people love them. According to Sendle’s survey, 64% of consumers said they’d be more likely to buy from a retailer that offered compostable packaging!
For more on the science behind composting, check out our posts here, here, and here! And try out our fab compostable mailers too!
Happy Sendling.
