New Eco-Friendly Packaging Materials We’re Excited About
Here at Tree Hugger Containers, you might call us packaging nerds. We love the way a beautifully designed package feels in our hands. We know the power effectively branded jars, labels, boxes, and more can have towards making a company successful. However, every beautifully branded and printed package comes with an environmental consequence. So when we learn about new materials advancing the sustainability of the packaging industry, we get really excited. Thanks to the rising consumer demand for eco-friendly materials on consumer packaged goods, there are a lot of new, planet-first approaches that give us hope for the future of packaging.
Mushroom Packaging
Mushroom Packaging
What we love about it: This material composts at home in 45 days
Great substitute for: Box inserts
Brands to source from: Grown.bio, Mushroom Packaging
Mushroom packaging is made from mycelium and the woody inner parts of hemp stalk known as hemp hurds. Because this material is known to be quite insulating, it makes a great package insert for edibles and other products sensitive to temperature. This type of packaging is a perfect substitute for plastic, paper, or foam molds and inserts.
SeaweeD Packaging
Seaweed packaging
What we love about it: Unlike PLA, a common plastic alternative, seaweed packaging is home compostable and doesn’t contaminate PET recycling
Great substitute for: Plastic wrap, sample packaging
Brands to source from: NotPLA, Evoware
Packaging suppliers are turning to seaweed as an alternative for the thin, flexible plastic wraps used in a lot of food and beverage packaging, including cannabis edibles. This eco-friendly plastic wrap alternative biodegrades in 4-6 weeks. It’s also made from a renewable resource, seaweed, which grows up to 1m per day, doesn’t compete with food crops, and helps keep our oceans clean. On top of all of these great environmental benefits, seaweed packaging has a shelf life of two years.
MOLDED FIBER PACKAGING
What we love about it: This material is really versatile and customizable
Great substitute for: Packaging inserts, boxes, bottles
Brands to source from: James Cropper,Paperfoam, Pulp Works
There are several different types of molded fiber out there, but many of them are made from biodegradable pulp formed into custom colors, shapes, and sizes. The materials used for molded fiber range from wood to bamboo, grass, straw, potato starch, recycled newspapers, cellulose, and other post consumer ingredients like apple waste.
Post Consumer Plastic PACKAGING
What we love about it: Sourcing the inputs for this material actually cleans up our environment
Great substitute for: Plastic lids, joint tubes, plastic packaging
Brands to source from: Sana Packaging
We love a material that pulls double-duty and that’s what you get with post-consumer plastics. This category of packaging is made from plastic that’s been previously used for other products, removing that material from the waste stream. It’s also able to be repurposed into new packaging via curbside or specialized recycling programs. While not necessarily a new material, we’re excited to see plastic recycling become more effective and efficient. For cannabis packaging specifically, groups like Canna Change are launching circular models where customers can return empty packaging to dispensaries for retail credit.
While all of these materials are inspiring and exciting, they each are fairly new in development. As adoption grows so will the quality and applicability of these materials for the cannabis industry and other retail categories. As an eco-friendly packaging company, we consider the complete context of the materials we’ve selected. Our material of choice is recycled glass because it offers the most benefits to the environment and our customers’ products and is conveniently recycled by our customers’ consumers. To get started on your planet-first packaging journey, reach out to our team today.