How to Reduce Shipping Costs with Eco-Friendly Packaging

How to Reduce Shipping Costs with Eco-Friendly Packaging

Staff

Reducing your brand’s carbon footprint will help you attract more customers and boost sales. But do you know that you can also save on shipping costs and lure customers to your products with pro-sustainable choices? Read on to find out how you can keep the items safe while being a sustainable brand. 

Choose Kraft Boxes for Small Products 

Kraft is one of the most used sustainable packaging materials for several reasons. It is a lightweight and cost-effective packaging solution. You can pack lightweight items such as candies, socks, t-shirts, cupcakes, medicines, herbs, and more in Kraft boxes. 

Offering eco-friendly custom Kraft packaging to customers will help your brand boost sales. Give your products a boost in visibility by choosing custom packaging such as pillow boxes, pyramid boxes, gable boxes, etc. 

Use Cardboard Boxes for Distant Shipping 

When packing products such as vape, essential oils, serums, lip balms, and other lightweight items, you can use cardboard packaging. This material is both sustainable and lightweigh,t which also makes it a cost-effective solution. 

You can choose the thickness of the cardboard box according to the fragility of your products. When shipping products to distant places, go for a durable cardboard as it has to keep the product safe for a long time. Cardboard boxes can also be stacked on top of each other, saving storage space. 

Choose Corrugated Cardboard for a Branded Look

Using corrugated cardboard will keep the items safe from factors such as water, jerks, dust, and pressure. Many small businesses around the world choose affordable mailer packaging solutions so customers don’t have to pay hefty amounts in shipping charges.

Instead of using rigid boxes to glorify your product, you can choose these lightweight yet durable mailer boxes. You can pack your tumblers, mugs, makeup products, skincare, candles, books, etc. Mailer boxes make the perfect subscription boxes as they are made of corrugated cardboard. 

Resize Your Packaging Boxes 

Reducing packaging size to one that can easily fit the product and keep it safe helps brands save shipping costs. The larger the box is, the more space it will cover, which eventually contributes to more money. With the reduced packaging, you can still leave an impression on customers while keeping your items secure. 

Choosing custom packaging is important if you are to save costs on shipping. Standard boxes do not offer flexible dimensions. But with customized packaging, you can directly communicate with the manufacturer about the product’s dimensions and get the size that best fits your product. 

Use Recycled Materials as Fillers and Inserts 

Even when the packaging size is reduced, at times there are spaces after you add the product inside. And this can be a hassle during shipping as the products can be damaged due to bumps and jerks. Choosing recycled material to make fillers and inserts will help your brand save costs. 

You can use recycled cardboard to make customized inserts for the products. Different small brands use shredded paper in beautiful colors as it not only keeps the product protected but also offers a memorable unboxing experience. 

Opt for Ship in Own Container 

E-commerce traditions are rapidly changing and evolving with the emerging trends and different demands. Brands are now opting for SOIC- Ship In Own Container strategies. Most D2C brands have switched to this strateg,y where they do not throw their package in a bigger brown box. Why? This helps the brand and the consumer save more money. 

According to the SOIC strategy, if your product can survive in its primary packaging, be it a mailer bag or a mailer box, there is no need to add another giant box to ship it to customers. This is helping brands in reducing their carbon footprint by reducing the resources while saving money as well. 

What are Some Eco-Friendly Practices for customization? 

Being an eco-friendly brand means more than just offering sustainable packaging. Countries are putting forth more restrictions and sanctions on the use of toxic chemicals on packaging boxes as they can create hindrance in the biodegradability of the packaging. When it comes to making product packaging choices, such as design or picking the perfect colors, consulting a professional always helps. Let’s have a look at some of the ways you can make your packaging more visually appealing while achieving sustainability goals: 

  • Prefer Minimal Designs 

Designing the packaging plays a vital role in getting more attention from customers. Being a sustainable brand does not equate to being a bland and no-fun brand. You can make your boxes shine just the same as any brand that does not follow sustainability guidelines. 

Choosing minimalistic designs is one of the ways to be a sustainable brand while making your boxes visually appealing. Minimal packaging design means using fewer resources, which in turn conserves nature. 

  • Prioritize Plant-Based Dyes

With more awareness of making eco-conscious choices, consumers are eager to know the dyes used to design and color the boxes. Knowing this helps the customers to know whether a box is fully sustainable or not. When you choose petroleum-based dyes on a package, it cannot be easily recycled or degraded at home. 

Plant-based dyes eliminate the possibility of taking the boxes to a commercial facility. These dyes are natural and pose no threat to the soil and nature whatsoever. Boxes designed and colored with plant-based dyes tend to disintegrate better and earlier than the ones with petroleum. 

  • Explore Sustainable Finishes

Colors and designs enhance the beauty of a plain box, but the finishes are the seal that brings out more beauty and attracts sales. There are many finishes you can find, but not every finish will be gentle for the environment. As a sustainable brand, you have to make pro-sustainable choices that won’t harm nature. 

Aqueous coating is a type of packaging finish that adds a coating on the packaging bags and boxes to further enhance their beauty. This finish is environmentally friendly and does not harm the environment. Embossing and debossing finishes can also be used on your boxes as they give a raised texture or a depressed text effect, respectively. 

Offer Reduced Costs on Shipping to Boost Sales!

Making pro-sustainable choices, whether as a business or a consumer, is only going to make our lives better in the future. There are different ways your brand can reduce shipping costs by being a sustainable brand in the market. Marketing the reduced costs and sustainability factor will help your brand get more customers. Retain and leave a lasting impression on your customers with more informed choices about sustainability.

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