Consumers are demanding alternative, sustainable packaging solutions from retailers - retailers want to take this into account. Always with an eye on profitability. There are already a number of practicable solutions for retailers.
A brief overview of current approaches is provided by Carsten Szameitat, Director of Internet World Expo, the leading trade fair for digital commerce, where this year (10 and 11 March 2020) for the first time the special area „Print & Packaging Avenue - How print is driving e-commerce“ is to be found.
Sustainability and environmental protection are topics that the Online retailer Zalando the company has been experimenting since autumn 2019 as part of a pilot project with alternative packaging methods. Since September, around 10,000 randomly selected test persons in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have no longer received their Zalando goods in a cardboard box, but in a colourful Plastic bag from the service provider RePack. Customers must return the bag to Zalando as soon as they have received their order - even if they want to keep all the items. The initial findings from this pilot phase are still pending, but one thing is already clear: the discussion and the avoidance of packaging waste will also become more important for online retailers. one of the important topics of the coming years.
World packaging champion - an inglorious title
And this is urgently needed, because according to the EU's statistical office every German throws away around 220 kilograms of packaging per year. We are the inglorious European champions here, although there is a willingness to change. A survey commissioned by the Consulting firm PWC revealed that the vast majority of German consumers do not believe the Sustainability of packaging is important and they welcome the use of recyclable materials.
One promising approach to making retail packaging more sustainable is the Concept of the circular economy. The key is to utilise the raw materials used longer and more frequently. The so-called circular economy makes it possible to extend the life cycle by Recycling, reuse, dismantling or reprocessing of a product. There are already successful examples in various packaging areas.
Sold as a mail order company memo AG Its product range, consisting of office supplies and furniture, promotional items and everyday products, is available via three online shops as well as catalogues and advertising media. In doing so, memo takes sustainability criteria into account. As early as 1998, the company was a pilot partner in the introduction of the „Postbox“, a reusable mailing system from Deutsche Post. When this system was discontinued at the end of 2008, the Reusable shipping system „memo Box“. It has now been in use for over ten years and is setting ecological standards in the industry. about 25 per cent of parcel shipments are sent with it.
Alternative options for packaging
How the circular economy works in practice in a company is also demonstrated by the Werner & Mertz Group. The fourth-generation family-owned company from Mainz and manufacturer of the Frosch brand works together with its partners in the Recyclate initiative for a real cycle of packaging waste which also includes plastic packaging from the Yellow Bag. Instead of downcycling the plastic into lower-quality materials or even incinerating it, the Use of state-of-the-art sorting technology High-quality recyclates without the use of crude oil can be produced.
Another example is also Tetra Pak, which uses sugar cane in the production of bio-based packaging. Tetra Rex cartons for chilled dairy products are made exclusively from sugar cane-based plastic and cardboard.
Water bottles that could be made of biodegradable material in the future are still in the experimental phase. an Icelandic product design student The bottle is designed to retain its shape as long as it is filled. Then the degradation process begins. The underlying Material is agar, a substance derived from algae. Another packaging option that is currently being tested is a hard-wearing Film made from casein proteins, which is more impermeable to air and more durable than plastic - and edible. It could be used for pizza boxes or cornflakes packaging, for example.
Back to the roots - filling material
Filling material has only one task: filling packages and eliminating empty spaces. Renewable raw materials are also becoming increasingly popular here and show consumers that retailers are taking the issues of sustainability and environmental compatibility seriously. The most common material here is probably Wood wool. It is not only decorative, but also wraps sensitive items perfectly. Another advantage: it is Lightweight and 100 per cent biodegradable. But sustainably produced packaging crisps are also enjoying increasing acceptance. From Maize starch They are an environmentally friendly alternative to polystyrene packaging chips. It is also completely natural Start-up Landpack that Straw instead of polystyrene for refrigerated shipping straw has just as good insulating properties as polystyrene. Retailers, such as Alnatura and Feinkost Käfer, are already taking up these options.
Everything in order? Suggestions and points of criticism
Consumers demand it, manufacturers and retailers could do it - so is this the Paving the way for future sustainable solutions around the topic of packaging? For memo, the biggest challenge in implementing the reusable shipping system is the organisational and technical integration into company processes. Furthermore, additional costs are incurred, for example for returns processing, which cannot be passed on to customers. The constant Further development of the system generates additional work. Since autumn 2016, the „memo box“ has consisted of Recycled plastic from household waste. This measure has reduced greenhouse gas emissions during the production of the box by up to 30 per cent - but at the same time, the manufacturing costs for the box have also increased.
Visitors can find out more about packaging at Internet World Expo (10 and 11 March 2020 in Munich, http://www.internetworld-expo.de/sideevents/) on the Print & Packaging Avenue. Here, on a dedicated „Print on Stage“ presentation stage, visitors will be presented with the most important Printing trends will be organised. The following topics have been planned so far: „Packaging solutions for the mail order business“, „Big data: special catalogues in small editions“, „Paper products are so sustainable“ and „Why do it yourself? Warehousing, dispatch space and logistics by print service providers“.
Author: Carsten Szameitat, Director of Internet World Expo
