
Right-size packaging is about using the precise amount of materials necessary to properly secure your product, without adding anything superfluous. Recyclability is an important factor in determining the sustainability of a substrate, but right-size packaging is another valuable principle. How does right-size packaging relate to sustainability? Furthermore, paperboard can usually be recycled several times before the organic fibers are completely worn down. Paperboard is incredibly recyclable because it’s biodegradable and biogenic (made from wood).Īccording to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 68% of paper and paperboard are recycled in the United States each year, which is the highest recycling rate among municipal solid waste materials. Tragically, many forests are irresponsibly managed, but certification from FSC, SFI, or PEFC assures you're collaborating with a sustainable packaging manufacturer. They do this by working with an expansive network to help local and global stakeholders embrace sustainability practices. The goal of this collective is to ensure paper-related products come from responsibly managed forests. There are a variety of credible organizations that help identify and monitor sustainably sourced paperboard, including the nonprofits Forest Stewardship Council ( FSC), Sustainable Forest Initiative ( SFI), and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification ( PEFC). How do you know if paperboard is sustainably sourced? This also includes the energy sources used to transport, manufacture, and recycle your paperboard. Sustainable packaging focuses on leaving a minimal environmental impact, but what does that look like? It’s about reducing the amount of packaging used, ensuring it's responsibly sourced, shrinking your carbon footprint, being attentive to the entire lifecycle of the material, and focusing on renewable resources. This means there are many processes that determine its level of sustainability. As such, it’s incredibly renewable, presuming the operations related to its production and distribution abide by sustainability principles and practices. Paperboard is a substrate derived from trees.

But how sustainable is it? Sustainability of Paperboard

Paperboard remains a common substrate for folding cartons, marketing collateral, and more. For those eager to make it easier for consumers to go green, choosing the right packaging materials is an important area of the business to examine. Consumers continue to push for more eco-friendly products from brands willing to take action on climate change.
