A Guide to Sustainable Shipping Materials
While ensuring product safety and quality is critical in cold chain shipping, it is equally important to consider the environmental impact of packaging materials. In this blog, we will explore some of the sustainable packaging materials available for thermal shipping, including their benefits, drawbacks, and how they can be used to promote a more sustainable future.
TSS Thermalist
April 19, 2023 | Sustainable Leadership
While ensuring product safety and quality is critical in cold chain shipping, it is equally important to consider the environmental impact of packaging materials. In this blog, we will explore some of the sustainable shipping materials available for thermal shipping, including their benefits, drawbacks, and how they can be used to promote a more sustainable future.
What type of packaging
do you use?
Types of Sustainable Shipping Materials
Recycled Packaging
One of the most common and practical sustainable packaging options is using materials that have been recycled from prior products or packaging. By opting for this type of packaging, you are choosing environmentally friendly materials.
Compostable Packaging
Packaging that can decompose on the ground within 180 days is referred to as compostable packaging. Typically, these packages are manufactured using plant-based materials like bamboo or sugar cane.
Cellulose Packaging
Cellulose packaging is created using natural sources such as wood and cotton. It is an excellent and highly durable alternative to plastic packaging.
Corrugated Packaging
Cardboard packaging is gaining significant popularity as it is a reusable material that has tremendous recyclable potential, making it an environmentally friendly option.
Cornstarch Packaging
Cornstarch-based packaging is a sustainable and biodegradable option that does not contain any harmful toxins. It has become increasingly popular in various industries, such as skincare and wellness.
Kraft Paper Packaging
Kraft paper manufacturing is an environmentally sustainable process that utilizes various types of wood pulp. This material has gained popularity for producing boxes for a diverse range of products.
Which Materials Are Suitable for Cold Chain Shipping?
While there are many types of sustainable packaging, not all of them are safe and effective for cold chain shipping. When exploring types of materials, ask yourself these three questions.
1. What is the temperature range?
2. What is the storage period?
3. What is the volume being shipped?
Common Materials for Thermal Shipping
Recycled Wool
Recycled wool is made from post-industrial and post-consumer wool waste, such as discarded clothing and textiles. It is a sustainable alternative to new wool, as it reduces the need for virgin wool fibers and conserves resources. Recycled wool is also biodegradable, meaning it can break down naturally over time.
Plant Fibers
Plant fibers, such as bamboo, hemp, and sugarcane, are sustainable packaging materials that are renewable and biodegradable. They are used to make a variety of packaging products, such as bags, boxes, and wrappers. Plant fibers are a sustainable alternative to traditional packaging materials, but while they use natural materials, most are not recyclable and there are no currently effective plant-based thermal shipping materials that are biodegradable.
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
EPS, also known as Styrofoam, is a lightweight and insulating material used in packaging. It is made from petroleum and is not biodegradable, which has led to concerns about its environmental impact. EPS cannot be recycled, and it is bulky and fragile.
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
PET is a widely used option because of its unique advanced recycling technology, which allows it to be infinitely recycled. Compared to alternative materials like cotton, denim, and paper, PET has a lower carbon footprint and can be easily scaled. Recycled PET not only tackles current pollution issues by removing waste from streams and giving them a second life, it also creates a product that can be recycled repeatedly, reducing its environmental impact and making it a top contender for sustainable packaging projects, as it helps reduce waste and conserve resources.
In a 2021 study, the European Commission (and other national authorities) ran an extensive cross-sector sweep of websites to identify instances of greenwash.
Beware of Greenwashing
Greenwashing is a marketing tactic used by companies to give the impression that their products or services are environmentally friendly, when in reality, they may not be.
There are two types of greenwashing. The first is when companies focus more on marketing their products as environmentally friendly rather than making genuine efforts to make them eco-friendly. The second is when companies promote products made from alternative materials that have a larger carbon footprint than conventional materials.
For instance, many individuals have the misconception that bioplastics will naturally break down if discarded, but this is rarely the case. Even compostable plastics typically require specialized industrial composting facilities. This confusion often leads to incorrect disposal of bioplastics, resulting in their ending up in landfills.
Modern landfills are designed as low-oxygen environments so that the waste cannot decay. This environment helps to prevent decomposition, which produces harmful greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, as well as leachate which pollutes ground water and soil.
Manufacturers utilize greenwashing by marketing natural products, like denim packaging, as being guilt-free because they are “biodegradable.” In fact, the FTC prosecutes such claims as unqualified and misleading because a product is either completely biodegradable within a human lifetime or it is not. Anything else is hype.
Greenwashing misleads consumers into thinking they are making environmentally responsible choices when they are not. It also undermines the efforts of companies that are genuinely committed to sustainability by making it more difficult for consumers to distinguish between truly environmentally friendly products and those that are simply marketed as such.
