Did you know the average Australian uses over 130kg of plastic packaging a year? Furthermore, a survey by Australia Post recently revealed 73 per cent of Australians are now shopping online; so, isn’t time we all thought about ways to reduce our use of plastic packaging?
One company that has given the problem a lot of thought is The Better Packaging Co. This homegrown startup has come up with a solution to the explosion of plastic wrap. Instead the Better Packaging Co offers consumers and retailers satchel style biodegradable compostable packaging that is so much kinder on our planet.
This month the eCommerce disruptor is calling for everyone to take up the cause by asking for consumers to challenge their favourite brands to consider more environmentally friendly options.
The #BeBetter campaign launches online today. You can take part by tagging your favourite brands on social media with hashtag #BeBetter if you would prefer they use less plastic packaging.
Kate Bezar and Rebecca Percasky, founder of The Better Packaging Co, both previously worked with couriers and within the eCommerce for years, before becoming horrified at the amount of plastic waste that the industry was generating. Rather than be part of the problem, the pair opted to become part of the solution.
“We wanted to give retailers better alternatives, and so, The Better Packaging Co. was born. Our mission is to reduce plastic consumption and have brought far more Earth-friendly alternatives to the packing table,” said Percasky.
1000s of retailers have already embraced the Better Packaging Co’s offering with customers ranging from small Etsy sellers to global brands and courier companies including L’Oreal, Sendle, Jac+Jack and Karen Walker.
However, Percasky says their quest is far from over. She hopes to educate more brands on how quickly they can adopt more environmental solutions.
“Because our certified home compostable solutions can be directly substituted for current plastic ones, these changes can be made almost overnight,” she says. “We hope to educate brands and raise awareness through the #BeBetter consumer driven campaign.”
Co-founder Kate Bezar says brands that have already made the switch are reaping the benefits with positive feedback from consumers.
“Fashion Label, Mister Zimi, switched to our courier satchels first and were blown away by the positive responses from their customers. As soon as our compostable courier labels became available they put in an order, now they are also providing our poly bags to their manufacturers so that individual garments can be protected by them, and most recently, they’ve begun using our smaller barcode labels too” said co-founder, Kate Bezar.
Bezar stressed the brand’s #BeBetter campaign is NOT an exercise in naming-and-shaming, but instead aims to empower customers to say to their favourite brands; ‘I love buying what you make, but I’d love it even more if you didn’t wrap it in layers of unnecessary plastic packaging.’
“We hope to educate both brands and their consumers on the alternative packaging options available and in the process make a dramatically positive impact on our environment,” Bezar explains.
The Better Packaging Co’s #BeBetter campaign rolls out in the lead up to peak consumer online shopping season, asking buyers to pay extra attention to what packaging is used on their next delivery. There’s no perfect time for brands to make the switch, but there’s never been a better one than right now. Let’s #BeBetter to our planet, better to customers and better to ourselves.
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