Why Sustainable Packaging is Important–To Customers and Brands

Buying shoes online revolutionized the fashion industry. You get access to all the top styles from the comfort of your home. Also, you're able to shop on your time!

Rothy's believes sustainability is a way of life, so our mission is to help make your apparel purchases sustainable, whether online or in-store. It's so much more convenient when you buy shoes online. There's no need to travel out of your way to a shoe store that only has limited styles and availability. You get up-to-the-minute styles and prices that generally are reflected into significant savings for you: saving on time and money.

Specialty stores like Rothy's provide the best selection online to help reduce waste and benefit the consumer.

How does packaging affect the environment?

There are several ways packaging directly impacts the environment.

• First, the resources used generate waste in the process of being manufactured.
• They may pollute the air with carbon emissions.
• Packaging manufacturing also uses resources like water, energy, wood, chemicals, and fibers to produce.
• Additionally, by-products like wastewater or sludge release toxins into the atmosphere.

Packaging is a vast industry and source of waste at every point of sale, and many people turn a blind eye to it. By drawing awareness of the carbon footprint and environmental impact of packaging, we believe we can help create a more sustainable future.

It's estimated that the average consumer handles up to 50 packages a day and the packaging products these items come in. Take a moment and reflect on how many packages you come into contact with daily.

Packaging contributes massive amounts to the yearly municipal waste. According to the EPA, packaging, and containers exceed more than 28.1% of the total waste in the landfills. So, in 2018, that amounted to more than 82.2 million tons of waste that were just packaging.

More than 91% of all packing waste is sent right to landfills. While all waste poses its own problems, plastic waste, in particular, is detrimental to the environment. Only about 9% of plastic waste is recycled correctly. This leaves millions of pounds of plastics in the world's landfills.

Paper products and boxes also contribute massively to the waste of the packaging industry. The recycling rate of these products is more than 100% higher than that of plastic, with up to 68% of all paper products recycled. More than 32 million tons of cardboard boxes were recycled.

Worldwide Sustainability and Packaging

Different countries worldwide are addressing the concerns of sustainability and packaging differently. For example, in the United States, many jurisdictions limit the availability of plastic bags. Also, many areas are creating bills that focus on reducing waste from single-use plastics and also help increase recycling.

In China, it's limited and sometimes banned imports of waste derived from packaging. Canada implemented a national Strategy for Sustainable Packaging. Also, it's following a goal to reach zero waste by 2030. The European Union is also working to eliminate plastic waste. It has a ban on certain single-use plastics. In Australia, there is a goal of 100% of all packaging to be compostable, recyclable, or reusable.

What are the most sustainable types of packaging?

There are multiple facets to sustainable packaging. These materials are sourced, developed, and used to have a lessened environmental impact. In general, sustainable packaging is recyclable, minimizes carbon footprints, reduces resource use, is durable, and can be reused or recycled.

Cardboard products have a lot of potential to be sustainable packaging solutions. To begin with, many cardboard products are themselves made from recycled materials. Using recycled materials drastically reduces greenhouse gasses, water waste, and other byproducts of the manufacturing process.

Why Sustainable Packaging is Important

1. It is 100% recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable.

Corrugated cardboard is designed to degrade within a year fully. So, while it is recyclable, it has a minimal environmental impact. Composting cardboard is also a common practice in sustainable gardens. Some people even use cardboard as a low-cost, environmentally friendly mulch to prevent weeds and protect the roots of their plants.

2. It is a strong and durable product.

Cardboard travels very well, and it is a reliable packing material. This minimizes potential damage to products and helps make everyone happy. Also, due to the strength of cardboard, the packaging needs to be minimal. It can be used multiple times before being recycled. This makes it much more sustainable than other disposable packaging options such as plastic.

3. It helps to conserve water.

The process of growing trees uses enormous amounts of water. Every ton of recycled cardboard saves around 7,000 gallons of water.

4. It helps to save trees

The process of recycling cardboard saves many trees. It amounts to 17 trees for every ton of recycled cardboard.

5. Recycled cardboard reduces CO2 emissions.

Carbon emissions contribute heavily to air pollution and also to factors proven to correlate with global warming.

The trees absorb up to 250 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. Also, it reduces the amount of co2 in the atmosphere. Rather than incinerating cardboard, it's reused, saving up to 1500 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. There's also a significant amount of energy saved. Every ton saves up to 475 gallons of oil and 5000 kilowatts of power. 

In addition, cardboard packaging is relatively inexpensive to produce. This makes it an excellent option for companies looking to cut costs while still being environmentally friendly. The money saved can be used for many purposes, like innovating, even more, zero waste strategies, and helping improve working conditions.

Overall, recycled cardboard packaging is a great sustainable solution for companies and individuals. It results in up to 58% less water used throughout the manufacturing process. It also saves up to 64% of energy.

Why is sustainable packaging important?

Sustainable packaging is important because it helps to reduce the overall environmental impact of packaging. By using sustainable packaging materials and design, businesses can help cut down on waste, conserve resources, and protect the environment. In addition, sustainable packaging can also help improve a company’s bottom line by reducing costs associated with packaging materials and disposal.

Sustainable packaging and methods are part of the necessary efforts companies need to make to have corporate responsibility.

Consumer demand emphasizes the need for sustainability.

Many customers are becoming more conscious and will even pay more for companies with sustainable products and methods. In fact, up to a third reported being willing to pay more for sustainable brands. Up to 85% of people have shifted their buying behaviors to reflect their preference for sustainable goods and services. 

According to one study, more than 90% of customers are willing to switch brands if offered an sustainable alternative. In general, consumers had a positive attitude and perception of green brands.

Rothy’s has sustainability in mind

Rothy's team of experts takes sustainability in the fashion industry seriously. Everything from Rothy's packaging to products made using marine plastic is part of our zero-waste initiative. All of Rothy's products are made to last. We use state-of-the-art manufacturing methods, as well as handmade artisanal touches.

We ship our products using high-quality recycled cardboard boxes. These boxes are so strong that there's no need for a "box in a box" packaging. All of our boxes are made from 100% recyclable materials. Also, the boxes themselves are made from 85% post-consumer recycled materials.The contents of the box are recyclable, including the cards and paper.

We take our sustainable packaging a step further, so the box is resealable. There's no need for packing tape in case of returns, and it helps Rothy's achieve our zero waste goals. Additionally, we give back to the community. We offset carbon emissions from fossil fuels during travel with the carbon fund. These contribute to benefitting the Amazon rainforest and also toward the development of biofuels in the United States.

With these methods, we could offset carbon emissions by more than 9,000 tons in 2019.

Buy Online With Rothy's Sustainable Packaging and Products

Rothy's is excited to offer customers more conscious, sustainably-made products and packaging. Our experts specialize in creating a zero-waste experience and contributing to research to improve the sustainability of the fashion world and beyond. For more information about our products and sustainable practices, visit our website or contact us today.