Many brands are on the lookout for opportunities to improve their carbon footprint. And it’s this initiative that has prompted several companies to invest in sustainable packaging design.

While the collective goal of sustainable packaging design is a kinder impact on the environment — with the added benefits of being a powerful marketing and sales tool, and even cost savings — the way brands have achieved this result varies. Here are a few examples we wanted to share that highlight different types of avenues you can take.

Sustainable Packaging Example #1: Puma

Why have packaging serve one function when it can serve two? That was the thought athletic fashion brand Puma had when they designed their “clever little bag.” With a shoebox that also doubles as a bag, the company has been able to not only create an end product that is reusable for the consumer but also saves 1 million liters of water and 8,500 tons of paper annually.

Sustainable Packaging Example #2: Patagonia

Patagonia candidly opened up about their customers’ disappointment with their use of polybags for packaging (and the subsequent waste), and used this feedback to inspire change. While the polybags were deemed necessary via tests to preserve product safety in transit, the retailer has moved toward not only reducing the size of the bags to better align with product size, but also using 100% recyclable materials.

Sustainable Packaging Example #3: Seraphina Therapeutics

Catering to consumers focused on health and wellness, sustainable product packaging was a natural choice for Seraphina Therapeutics’ fatty acid supplement. Looking for the most environmentally friendly solution possible, the product’s initial starter kit comes with metallized film pouches that are durable enough to protect the capsules yet still lightweight, with a lamination derived from post-consumer recycled paper. In the interest of minimizing waste, only flat mailer envelopes are required to send refill pouches.

Sustainable Packaging Example #4: Asos

While materials can be an integral part of a shift toward sustainable packaging design, Asos — an online fashion and cosmetic retailer — proves that packaging size can have just as big of an environmental impact. By simply switching to packaging mailers and boxes more true to the size of shipped products, Asos has reduced the carbon footprint of their mailer bags by 27% and mailer boxes by 33%. They’ve also removed paper return slips from their packaging, saving an additional 320,000 kg of waste each year.

Sustainable Packaging Design Comes in Many Forms

As the examples above indicate, there’s no set guidelines for what sustainable packaging design needs to look like. Whether companies opt for recyclable packaging materials, design more lightweight solutions that eliminate unnecessary space, or turn the package itself into a dual-purpose item, the end result is an optimized packaging solution and efforts that won’t go unnoticed by consumers and other businesses.

By designing and manufacturing packaging solutions that are tailored to your product’s specifications and utilize the most efficient manufacturing techniques, Cases By Source helps support sustainable packaging efforts. Learn more about our custom process.