It is important for companies to ensure that they are adopting environmentally friendly packaging, because while it may seem that just one company does not make much of a difference, every single effort counts, with a change in packaging being more influential and effective than many think. For every single product that a company creates, they have to define the packaging that it is delivered in for their customers; because of the sheer number of products that each company produces and delivers, whether that be makeup or cooking supplies or books, the packaging oftentimes gets left behind or thrown away when it is ripped open to reveal the product inside. For packaging that is not environmentally friendly, it oftentimes ends up in trash cans that then are brought to landfills, contributing to the buildup of waste that is then sent back into the environment in countless forms of pollution. As a result of the constant production of packaging and how often it is used, this is done in a constant stream that can be dangerous when it comes to larger companies on a scale like Target or Amazon, simply because of how much waste they are producing with these materials.
However, for companies who adopt environmentally friendly packaging, they are able to combat this and reduce their own ecological footprint in a way that helps make sure that the impact they are leaving on the environment is a positive one, not a harmful one. If they create packaging that can be recycled or reused in some way, even if it is thrown away by the user, it can be separated later on to be made into something else, creating a cycle that ensures it is not just going to contribute to the buildup of waste and trash in landfills all around the world. Packaging that is biodegradable naturally breaks down in a way that is returned to the environment in the form of resources or natural materials, rather than allowing it to just sit there and accumulate, which is oftentimes what happens with materials such as plastic and cardboard, making it impossible for them to be returned to the environment in a productive manner.
This is packaging that can then be turned into something else in a productive manner, even creating new packaging for the same company if they create a system or program where they incentivize their customers to send the materials back to them. This helps the environment by simply reducing how much trash and waste is being accumulated throughout the planet as a whole, with it being quite an impressionable idea to consider how much of an impact could be made if every company decided to make these kinds of changes. It would create a much more sustainable vision for the future of today’s world, ensuring that we are not using more than we can productively and effectively return to the environment in a way that is only going to help improve the condition of the world, not ruin it.
Essay by: Jorge Enrique Crespo
Arizona State University