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Each year, more and more ISPA resource partners are stripping away the layers of packaging that coddle their products.

otHErs arE sWitcHiNg to using recycled materials, glass instead of plastic, or biodegradable materials. Regardless of the exact method, the end goal of making your products’ packaging more sustainable is a net reduction in environment-damaging waste, as well as a boost in positive media exposure and brand image.

simple changes For many resource partners, a great place to start going green is in your products’ primary packaging; that is, the packaging that immediately contains or protects your products. For example, an eye cream may have up to three types of primary packaging: the plastic container it’ s housed in, the box that the container sits in and the plastic wrap over the box. When trying to make your packaging more sustainable, ask yourself,“ is this piece of packaging necessary?” Many unnecessary primary packaging materials are removed in spa retail, anyways; ask your spa partners for feedback about the amount of packaging that is used. There’ s little reason to wrap a package in plastic if most spas remove your product from its individual plastic-wrapped box anyways.

There’ s a secondary upside to this scorched-earth approach to increasing your packaging’ s sustainability: by eliminating entire layers of unnecessary plastic, paper and boxes, you’ ll often save money. Take note, though, that taking away too much can affect the safety of the product during shipping. We recommend carefully evaluating each layer of packaging and the role it plays in product protection before coming to any decisions.

In addition to primary packaging, you can increase sustainability by reducing your secondary and tertiary packaging. This is the packaging that’ s generally non-consumer-facing: the big box that holds a dozen of your individually packaged products, the packing materials used to stuff that box and the materials used to package multiple boxes for shipment. All of these packaging types are points where you could look to easily eliminate layers of packaging or switch to a more sustainable material. While customers may never notice that you’ ve made your supply chain more environmentally friendly, the planet certainly will.

46 PULSE ■ October 2018