Best Practices for Eco-Friendly Packaging

How to make your packaging more sustainable

Environmental regulations and consumer expectations have turned eco-friendly packaging design from nice-to-have into an essential part of brand success.

But making your packaging more sustainable is about more than switching to recyclable materials (though that’s certainly a part of it).

Rather, it’s about minimising environmental impact from material sourcing through packaging production, delivery, use, and disposal to support a circular economy.

To help you achieve your environmental goals, we’ve put together the top 8 best practices for eco-friendly packaging.

That way, you can evaluate the sustainability of your current product packaging and figure out whether you need to make a change.

CONTACT BLAKE MADE today to find out how we can design eco-friendly bespoke premium packaging that makes sustainability part of your brand identity.

The business case for eco-friendly packaging

Following eco-friendly packaging best practices and sustainable PACKAGING DESIGN TRENDS isn’t just about looking after the planet.

It also delivers measurable business advantages that help you thrive in a competitive marketplace.

PACKAGING designed with sustainability in mind lets you:

• Save money: Eco-friendly materials are lightweight, reducing shipping costs by up to 25%. And minimalist design reduces the cost of materials and handling by up to 30% (FIRMHOUSE)

• Attract eco-conscious customers: 74% of consumers say that sustainable packaging design influences their purchasing decisions. This is particularly true for Gen Z and millennial shoppers, who make up a significant portion of the market in sectors like fashion and beauty or lifestyle (WIFITALENTS)

• Meet your ESG goals: The packaging sector generates around 36% of all plastics produced worldwide. Eliminating these materials from your packaging makes it easier to meet your Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets and build a positive reputation among consumers (UNITED NATIONS)

 

Top 8 eco-friendly packaging best practices

1) Use sustainable materials

Sustainability starts with selecting the right materials. That’s why Blake Made creates premium bespoke packaging using materials that are:

• Non-plastic
• Recycled
• Recyclable
• Biodegradable
• Compostable
• Low-waste
• Responsibly sourced

That includes everything from PRESENTATION PACKAGING and kraft mailing bags to tissues, tapes, and tags. Even THE GLUE ON OUR CORRUGATED BOXES IS RECYCLABLE!

Switching to sustainable materials reduces landfill waste and conserves virgin materials, lowering your brand’s carbon footprint.

 

2) Choose a minimalist design

Overpackaging is a serious contributor to material waste. So not only does inefficient design impact the environment, but it also costs you a lot of money you don’t need to spend.

Removing unnecessary layers and redundant elements solves both problems at once by lowering resource consumption and minimising material and shipping costs. And we use strong engineering principles to REDUCE PACKAGING WASTE WITHOUT COMPROMISING QUALITY.

Minimalist design also makes your packaging seem more premium and modern, giving your brand a powerful opportunity to stand out.

 

3) Size packaging correctly

When your packaging is too big for your product, you need to fill the void with excess materials.

But when you design eco-friendly packaging that perfectly fits the contents, you can eliminate that waste.

Properly sized packaging also reduces transport costs by allowing more units per pallet per truck. It also condenses warehouse storage space, so you continue growing without investing in an extra site.

When you partner with Blake Made, we carry out thorough product analysis to understand your precise sizing requirements while taking product fragility and protection into account. This lets us optimise your use of packaging space while also helping to REDUCE DAMAGE AND RETURN RATES.

 

4) Consider multi-functional design

When your packaging components serve multiple purposes, you give them extra utility beyond product protection.

For example, you could design for:

• Secondary utility: Packaging that doubles as storage or a useful household item

• Education: Including information, instructions, or entertainment on the packaging

• Collectibility: Encourages people to keep your packaging, which also helps make your brand a part of the customer’s daily routine

• Modularity: Lets you recombine packaging components for different uses

Multi-functional packaging design turns used packaging from immediate waste into something people want to keep.

This adds value for customers while also reducing material consumption and landfilling.

 

5) Use water-based inks

Solvent-based inks create harmful emissions and chemical waste.

But water-based inks have a 15% LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT.

That’s because they don’t use volatile organic compounds, lowering their toxicity and making water waste easier to manage – all while delivering exceptional print quality.

Using water-based inks also helps you comply with European and global solvent regulations.

 

6) Communicate sustainability features

Investing in sustainability features only drives revenue and growth if people know about them.

So it’s essential that you communicate these clearly on your packaging.

This guides them to your products over those of your competitors and helps promote eco-friendly disposal.

It also ENHANCES THE UNBOXING EXPERIENCE while educating your customers about your sustainability efforts.

You can communicate your sustainability features effectively with:

• Standardised symbols: Use recognised recycling icons

• Certifications: Display third-party verification credentials
• Disposal instructions: Give specific guidance for end-of-life handling
• Quantifiable benefits: Show how you’re measurably helping the environment
• QR codes: Link people to detailed sustainability information

 

7) Display environmental certifications

Greenwashing (making false or exaggerated sustainability claims) is a serious concern in today’s marketplace.

But third-party verification through recognised certification programmes enhances your brand with credibility that self-declared environmental claims can’t match.

By clearly displaying these certifications on your packaging, you build customer trust and help people make informed choices about the product they buy.

That’s why packaging by Blake Made is backed by a wide range of GLOBALLY RECOGNISED ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATIONS, including:

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®)
• Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™)
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 and 14001
• EcoVadis

With our support, you can champion best practices for eco-friendly packaging with third-party environmental certifications that give you definitive social proof.

 

8) Follow regulatory trends

The regulatory landscape around packaging is constantly evolving. And unless you comply, your brand can suffer serious fines and reputational damage.

Scrambling to keep up with these changes as they occur means you constantly need to redesign your packaging to meet the minimum standards. That’s why we design your packaging from the ground up to account for regulatory trends.

This way, you not only lead the way in best practices for eco-friendly packaging, but you also avoid obstacles like plastic packaging taxes and chemical content restrictions.

That means you can futureproof your packaging and eliminate wasted spend on stock that becomes outdated quickly.

 

How to transition to an eco-friendly packaging strategy

• Audit your current packaging footprint: Start by looking at your current materials, box sizes, recyclability, and other eco-friendly packaging best practices. This will help you determine where you need to improve

• Choose a sustainable packaging partner: Reach out to a trusted and experienced sustainable packaging provider like Blake Made. We design and procure scalable packaging solutions made with FSC®-certified materials that reduce plastic use and eliminate waste

• Follow a long-term sustainability plan: Our packaging designers follow a proven 4-STEP APPROACH that ensures your packaging meets your precise needs, with continuous improvement as your business grows. We also offer international transport and storage so you always have the packaging you need right when you need it

 

Adopt best practices for eco-friendly packaging with Blake Made

Your commitment to following eco-friendly packaging best practices is a huge first step to making your brand greener, futureproof, and more cost effective.

But to actually implement these principles, you need to partner with a bespoke premium packaging designer who lives and breathes them in every box, bag, and mailer.

That’s why brands across the UK and internationally partner with Blake Made.

GET IN TOUCH with our packaging specialists today to explore your options for eco-friendly packaging design.