Let’s talk about sustainability in the corporate sector. What started out as a popular trend has turned into a full-fledged movement. With increasingly aware customers becoming conscious about their impact on the environment, incorporating a sustainable e-commerce solution has become an important objective for businesses.
Thus e-commerce businesses are not exempted from this, which has introduced an opportunistic window: Sustainable Order Fulfilment.
Sustainable order fulfilment is essentially the consideration of reducing environmental impact through eco-friendly order fulfilment. Not only does it reduce environmental impact, but helps factor in economic and social considerations. So, let’s talk about tips on achieving sustainable order fulfilment.
Say No to Over-Packaging
Do you really need to add another layer to the package? Is it for the product’s protection or are you just doing it for yourself? It may not seem like a lot if you look at one package, but the cost of excess packaging items can bulk up. Think about how the packaging can be redesigned to eliminate waste, and save time and money
Is the Box Necessary?
Because of e-commerce technology marketplaces such as Amazon, you instantly imagine a brown cardboard box when you think of deliveries and e-commerce fulfillment. However, it’s not necessary for EVERY order.
Let’s say you’re selling something like t-shirts. Do you really need a cardboard box for that?
Plastic Packaging = Cancelled!
You have to be really new to the sustainability world if you don’t realize that the first step to sustainability is reducing plastic use. Only 9% of plastic waste has ever been recycled.
Including soft plastic such as shrink-wrap to your order can have a dire impact on the environment. It can be easily replaced with crinkle-cut paper. It might be tough at first, but you’ll find many great alternatives to plastic for parcel shipping!
Embrace Renewable Materials
Make renewable materials like paper and cardboard your best friend. Not only do they offer many recycle and reuse options, but they’re versatile and can be used for different international e-commerce packaging elements.
Get Your Customers in on the Game
Packaging is majorly an environmental concern because of its one-time usability factor. Once the package is opened, it has fulfilled its purpose and is thrown away.
When you incorporate reusable packaging for e-commerce shipping, include your customers in your efforts. Your environment-aware customers will fall in love with your brand. Encourage them to rewrite the story and reuse the packaging. A good marketing team will really jump on this opportunity!
Partner Up with Sustainable E-commerce Fulfilment Services
This brings us to our final tip, and possibly the most important one. Most e-commerce services want to shift to sustainable packaging options but are unable to do so. It could be the lack of resources or money.
Find yourself an e-commerce fulfilment partner like JRD Fulfilment that can help you do it. Our clients are our partners in success, so we are committed to helping them through every step of the journey. If you need to become more sustainable, we’ll offer tailor-made solutions that maximize efficiency and incorporate sustainability in your e-commerce fulfilment process like never before. Let’s go green together!