Unpackaged is not always better! Packaging not only protects your products, it can also help to reduce waste! We would like to take a closer look at this statement in the following and use an example to illustrate why packaging is particularly important for a product.
There is a lot of discussion about packaging and especially about the waste it generates. As part of this discussion, we should ask ourselves what would happen if we simply left out the packaging and sent products unpackaged on their way to the shelf or to the end customer.
For example, if you send a tablet unpackaged and it is damaged during shipping and can no longer be used, the environmental impact in this case is significantly higher than if you had sent it in protective shipping packaging and it could still be used.
According to a data collection by Öko-Institut e.V., a tablet has a footprint of 240 kg CO2e / piece (depending on the manufacturer). A suitable shipping package made of corrugated cardboard causes approx. 0.16 kg CO2e. In this case, the packaging accounts for 0.07% of the tablet's CO2 footprint. The CO2 footprint of the unpackaged and damaged tablet is equivalent to the total footprint of 1,500 corrugated cardboard packages for protected transport.
Corrugated cardboard packaging has a small overall share in the CO2 footprint of the products that are packaged. However, this small share has a big impact! With the protection it provides for the packaged goods, it simultaneously reduces the waste that would result from damage to the unpackaged goods.
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