Environmental Advantages of Using Corrugated Cardboard Boxes

Using corrugated cardboard boxes for your company’s packaging can have a greater environmental impact than you might expect. Keep reading to learn about how using corrugated packaging can benefit the environment and your company’s sustainability initiatives. 

Why Use Corrugated Cardboard for Packaging?

Corrugated cardboard is eco-friendly, meaning it is healthy for the environment. It decomposes easily and can be recycled, making it a preferable choice for companies that want to be more environmentally ethical and lower their carbon footprint. Corrugated cardboard is also a traditional type of packaging with many years of proven effectiveness as packaging.

benefits of using sustainable packaging

The Benefits of Using Sustainable Packaging

Among the many advantages of cardboard packaging, some of the most important relate to its sustainability and positive effects on the environment. Using corrugated packaging carries the following benefits:

1. Strength

Corrugated fibers are sturdy, and the structure of the boxes allows for a high weight capacity. You can also reuse this kind of packaging, despite the size or weight of the products you ship inside.

2. Customization

Corrugated packaging suits just about any size product. Ordering custom packaging helps reduce the amount of waste because the boxes are made to fit. Having less to recycle and transport means lower carbon emissions for your company.

The boxes are also stackable, which means they make good use of space. The packaging will fit securely into the cargo space vehicles.

3. Recyclable

Corrugated packaging is created using paper pulp from newspapers and boxes, and it can be manufactured from materials left over from numerous industries. Highly eco-friendly, it is easy to make while offering a packaging quality that is hard to match. This type of packaging can contain up to 100% recycled materials without sacrificing its quality.

Since corrugated boxes are paper-based, they are easy to recycle multiple times. Cardboard packaging is a durable material that can be renewed and reused, making it affordable for companies that want to reduce their packaging budget.

Corrugated packaging is also made from a renewable resource. Many suppliers prefer to harvest materials to make this type of packaging from affordable, recycled remains or sustainably grown forests. Manufacturers of corrugated cardboard can replace and regrow the trees used to make this product.

4. Easy Disposal

Corrugated packaging is made from pine or birch trees, which grow quickly, but it also might contain woodchips and recycled materials. It does not contain harsh dyes, bleach or other chemical treatments. Because of its composition, you can responsibly dispose of it without causing harm to the environment, making it more desirable than materials that contain chemicals that might contaminate natural resources.

5. Reusable

Customers can reuse their corrugated packaging and so can your business. You can collapse many packaging items for easy storage and reuse. Their shape and durability also make them helpful for storing miscellaneous supplies and products. 

Even if you don’t use it as packaging, you can reuse corrugated cardboard for practical purposes and other projects. When the packaging reaches the end of its life span, you can recycle it. 

6. Energy-Efficient

Using recycled materials to manufacture corrugated packaging requires less energy than producing packaging from new materials. Many manufacturers also use locally sourced materials, which lowers the costs of fuel for transporting the materials. Using corrugated boxes can help your company save energy that you can use for other purposes.

Using corrugated materials reduces the resources your company requires to create new packaging and it takes less energy to work with than many other materials. 

7. Free From Toxins

Petrochemicals such as crude oil are used in the manufacturing process for plastics. These chemicals are highly unsustainable and harmful to the ecosystem. Manufacturers that use plastic packaging must undergo a complicated extraction and refinement process before distributing it to consumers.

With corrugated packaging, manufacturers avoid using harmful chemicals that will end up in the environment. As corrugated packaging breaks down, it releases safe, organic materials instead of leaching chemicals into the environment.

8. Boosts Brand Reputations

Green business practices and marketing are more than a trend. As environmentally friendly options continue to expand, more companies strive to change everything from their sourcing to their packaging. Using sustainable packaging gives customers a positive impression of your company. Practicing sustainability is good for your company’s reputation because modern consumers care about environmentally friendly initiatives.

Buyers want to know that the products they consume will positively affect the environment. They also want information about what they’re purchasing so they know they are making well-informed choices. You can use corrugated packaging as an example of your business’ commitment to sustainability in your marketing messages.

9. Makes Shipping Simple 

Corrugated packaging is usually shaped like rectangular prisms or cubes, making them stackable and easy to transport. You can store irregularly shaped products in boxes without wasting space. Your shipping is more efficient when your packaging fits well in cargo.

10. Flexible Design Options

Cardboard is highly flexible as a packaging material and accepts ink well. It can be shaped into various designs and printed on using flexography or several other methods. The best part about the design process is that it can also be entirely eco-friendly while having a crisp, professional presentation. Water-based, nontoxic ink decomposes safely in the environment and provides a high-quality design on cardboard materials.

11. Economical

Sustainable corrugated packaging is highly affordable and fits well in most company budgets. If you’re considering changing your packaging options to be more sustainable, you will probably find that doing so will also help you save money. Corrugated materials are also highly durable, so using them in your packaging protects your products well from damage.

Cardboard is less expensive than many alternatives, especially when you use recycled materials instead of sourcing new materials. It’s also lightweight, which is a benefit for its transportation, so you can also save on your shipping and cut back on fuel emissions.

12. Reduces Ocean Acidification

Oceanic acidification results from waste materials constantly being emptied into the water. When packaging is recycled or reused, it stays out of the ocean and reduces this environmental problem.

13. Fights Eutrophication

Eutrophication happens when too much algae forms in water, polluting the water and rendering it less habitable for other forms of life. This can happen when too many nutrients from waste collect in the water, and plastic is one potential culprit for widespread eutrophication. Using less plastic and more cardboard can help reduce this problem.

order with custom boxes now today

Order Corrugated Packaging With Custom Boxes Now!

If you want to enjoy the environmental advantages of cardboard boxes, you can start using this economical packaging type to ship your goods by ordering from Custom Boxes Now. We’re experts in structural design, so we can make the perfect packaging to go with your business’s design.

Contact us online to ask about our products.