How to Make Your E-Commerce Packaging More Sustainable

With the increasing demand of e-commerce and online shopping, brands are in a race to capture customer loyalty in every part of their business, from the product itself to the way it arrives at the doorstep. Today's shoppers are looking beyond the purchase—they want to support brands that genuinely care about sustainability due to the environmental impact of deliveries and returns.

Imagine your packaging as the first impression of your brand’s values. By embracing more sustainable packaging solutions, you’re not only meeting customer expectations but also reducing your environmental footprint. It’s a win-win.

Here are four ways to make your e-commerce packaging more eco-friendly.

Reduce Your Damage Rate

One key way to improve sustainability is to reduce your damage rate during transit. Damaged goods mean wasted materials, costly replacements, and additional carbon emissions.

Hexpand offers a patented 100% recyclable retention and suspension solution ideal for fragile products and e-commerce shipments. Available in different patterns, like the iconic weave and Y-shaped cutouts, Hexpand’s unique structure firmly cradles items, absorbing shock and guarding from collisions that could lead to damage.

Hexpand is fully customizable to your product’s dimensions and weight. It can be integrated into your existing corrugated box structure or designed as a stand-alone insert, reducing in-pack movement while eliminating the need for additional non-recyclable cushioning materials. For brands, this means peace of mind knowing that products arrive intact and in a way that has less impact on the planet.

Consider Eco-Friendly Materials

Material choice greatly impacts sustainability. Eco-conscious brands should consider replacing oil-based plastics with renewable materials whenever possible.

Eco-friendly options include recycled, renewable, and biodegradable materials like water-soluble packing peanuts and compostable solutions like Cruz Foam.

A Biodegradable Foam Alternative: Cruz Foam

Cruz Foam provides another excellent option for sustainable protection. Crafted from 70% upcycled food waste, it is 100% compostable and biodegrades 99% faster than traditional EPS foam. Its innovative composition offers strong protection and maintains temperature control, making it ideal for cold-chain applications as well as shipping delicate items. 

For brands shipping fragile goods or products that require to be stored in specific conditions, Cruz Foam delivers reliable, sustainable protection that matches the performance of traditional foams without the long-lasting waste.

Right-Size Your Boxes

Oversized boxes use excess materials, add cost, and increase emissions. By right-sizing your boxes to fit products more securely (without compromising on protection), you use less material, reduce waste, and often cut shipping costs. Well-fitted packaging also maximizes space on pallets and in shipping vehicles, further lowering transportation-related carbon emissions.

When selecting packaging, assess your product’s dimensions and needs, aiming for a snug yet protective fit that minimizes unnecessary void fills. Working with a packaging professional helps to ensure every design is optimized for your needs.

Choose Digital Print and Finishing

Digital print and finishing offer a sustianable choice when it comes to packaging production for many reasons. Unlike conventional print and finishing, digital methods eliminate the need for print plates and cutting dies. This not only reduces raw material consumption significantly, but it also keeps those materials out of the landfill at the end of the production run. Additionally, digital production is less labor-intensive and more streamlined, using less resources overall to achieve.

Digital print can also offer eco-friendly inks that are fully repulpable, meaning they can safely re-enter the paper waste stream to be re-made into new corrugated products. The HP PageWide C500 press prints with HP True Water-Based Inks, which are non-toxic and fully recyclable.

For a fully green approach, you can pair digital print with eco-friendly product protection like Hexpand.

Embracing Sustainability in Every Shipment

To meet modern consumer expectations and reduce environmental impact, brands should look to make their e-commerce packaging as sustainable as possible. By reducing your damage rate, opting for eco-friendly materials, right-sizing packages, and choosing sustainable production methods, brands can ensure each shipment minimizes its carbon footprint on the planet.

Contact our Packaging Advisors to get started on creating sustainable e-commerce packaging that delights your customers and meets your brand's sustainability goals.