Waste is a growing issue for many e-commerce and online retail businesses. How many times have you received a package in the mail wrapped in plastic that contains even more boxes and plastic?
Probably a lot, right? At this rate, it takes up twice as much space than the actual contents of the box. The kicker is – that extra packaging serves no actual purpose.
In turn, this has a negative impact on our environment because it’s harder to manage and properly discard the materials. However, in today’s world of e-commerce and online shopping, packaging is essential to ensuring product safety.
So what can we do to reduce packaging waste? Well, with the help of custom packaging, you can reduce waste and make smarter choices.
Let’s consider the following decisions as to how they can help your packaging to be more manageable and less wasteful.
Properly Sized Boxes
Nowadays, a lot of businesses opt to use stock sizes for their corrugated boxes. These are readily available and affordable however they’re not ideal for every situation.
Rather than choosing the closest box size for your needs, a custom box can be properly sized to reflect the actual dimensions of the product it’s protecting.
As a result, less materials are used to produce the boxes. Better yet, this packaging strategy offers a variety of benefits such as:
- reduced packaging waste thanks to a smaller box size
- reduced manufacturing costs
- optimized box space
- reduction in dimensional shipping costs due to smaller box footprint
- increased product security
Custom Inserts
Another way you can reduce waste in packaging is with the help of custom inserts.
These inserts aid in the optimization of box space while also providing a lot of additional protection for your goods. From a wide variety of eco-friendly and recyclable materials, you can shape the insert to snugly fit the box.
This ensures that, regardless of the shipping route, the contents of the box stay put and withstand shocks and impact. With the use of inserts, unnecessary and wasteful materials such as additional boxes and plastics can be reduced.
In addition to protection, the customization of inserts can enhance the design elements of your packaging and brand. For more information, be sure to check out our blog post on the 3 types of packaging inserts and why they’re important!
Shorter Packaging Runs
Obviously purchasing your packaging in bulk is necessary. But with custom packaging, you don’t run the risk of over- or under-producing units. Unlike custom, the manufacturing of large packaging projects such as stock sized boxes are often overrun or under-run.
Generally speaking, when you’re considering the manufacturing of a lot of packaging (such as 50,000 boxes), a client can receive an order that’s either over or under-supplied by as much as 10% (in this case, 5,000 boxes). This would have a huge impact on the manufacturing cost, time and increase in waste being produced per box.
On the other hand, you can achieve more accuracy with shorter packaging runs, especially for those that are digitally printed that are used by custom packaging. Order smaller quantities and you’ll receive the full amount due to different production techniques. Consequently, there’s less wasted material during the start and slowing down of production.
At LeKAC, we even help you calculate your ideal quantity through various equations! Don’t worry about working it out yourself, that’s what our custom packaging specialists are for. This way, there is no waste when it comes to your packaging.
Branding and Marketing
While making conscious decisions to reduce waste, custom packaging can be a very effective branding and marketing tool. This is essential to any e-commerce businesses because packaging plays a huge role in generating customer loyalty and adds to the user’s experience.
With the help of digital printing options that provide a variety of colours, you can create beautiful and everlasting designs for your brand. Digital printing even consumes less material and produces less waste than traditional printing plates.
As a result, you can enhance your packaging design and improve the unboxing experience with custom branded packaging while being eco-friendly to stand out against your competitors.
Even better, customers take note of packages they receive that are eco-friendly. It never hurts to have your brand associated with global-consciousness, and customers appreciate a considerate company.
So Where Does LeKAC Come In?
We’ve been in the custom packaging business for over 14 years now. We’ve seen a lot of trends come and go, but we have always had a passion for preserving our environment. We are committed to reducing plastic consumption and creating packaging that lasts for years.
Custom packing offers a variety of benefits and can help you make smarter choices to reduce waste. Smarter choices include properly sized boxes, production of smaller quantities, design techniques, materials, as well as custom inserts.
With excellent customer service and a great understanding of waste reduction techniques, our in-house design specialists can assist you in in creating eco-friendly boxes while helping you grow your brand! Our custom packaging specialists are ready to properly advise you on packaging based on budget, products and individual needs.
Contact Us today for your free consultation! We’re excited to help you help reduce packaging waste!
