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The importance of sustainable business and marketing practices

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Sustainable business; it’s the way of the future. Consumers across the world are today more than ever aware of their environmental footprint and are determined to reduce their impact. It’s a powerful movement, with a large majority of the world’s population understanding that individual contributions amount to global change and improvement.

From the removal of single-use plastic bags from retail stores and the shift away from plastic straws, to the introduction of sustainable beauty, household-cleaning and furniture products – each step towards eco-friendly business has been driven by consumer behaviour.

In today’s society, the process of product creation right through to how its marketed is under the spotlight, but for all the right reasons.

Sustainability leads to a brighter future

‘Ignorance is bliss’ no longer stands in today’s eco-driven society. For businesses, those that choose not to take responsibility and review their own environmental impact today – whether it’s their product packaging, carbon footprint or recycling system – there’s a strong likelihood they’re going to have trouble in the future. In other words, consumers will instead opt for an eco-friendly counterpart and significantly affect your bottom-line.

On the positive side, addressing consumer sentiment towards sustainability has real business benefits when integrated into business operations. Not only will it improve your brand image and competitive advantage, eco-friendly practices can increase productivity and reduce costs, reduce waste, attract a strong calibre of people that are passionate about the environment (just like your customers), and enable your business to adapt to and comply with current and future regulations.

From a marketing perspective, your product’s packaging is key to taking the step towards a more sustainable future – and your customers will thank you for it.

But as I always say, making a bold branding statement doesn’t have to be expensive or harmful to the environment. In fact, choosing eco-friendly packaging, manufacturing and transporting tactics that are recyclable and biodegradable, is easier and more cost-efficient than one may think.

Product packaging turned green

So, what is the ultimate packaging solution for a brand that cares about both ethics and aesthetics?

The truth is, simple green practices that have a long-lasting positive impact will yield strong results.

That’s why I launched RooCreate; we seek to create absolute excellence in design, whilst upholding the promise of a more sustainable future. It’s an eco-friendly adventure where the branding and packaging experience becomes one cohesive process utilising smart, simple and sustainable marketing strategies.

And the good news is, there’s a variety of eco-friendly alternatives available for various budgets.

Here’s three factors to consider to improve your business’ environmental impact through product packaging:

1. It’s made with recycled materials.

Choosing packaging that’s made from recycled material is far less resource-intensive than packaging that uses virgin materials. It not only saves trees, but also requires far less water and energy. Packaging made from chlorine-free recycled paper and cardboard also produces up to 90% less by-products such as chemical wastes.

Sustainable design also isn’t always about developing new materials. Often, it’s about utilising what we already have in new and creative ways.

For example, a popular eco-friendly design solution at RooCreate is our ‘Eco Clamshell’. It’s a moulded pulp box – the material used to make egg cartons – that’s 100% recyclable and biodegradable, reusable and contains no bleach or dyes, plus it’s pleasing on the eye.

The inks on packaging used are also important, and some great alternatives to petroleum-based inks are water and soy-based inks.

2. It’s 100% recyclable.

Sadly, we live in a world where convenience trumps consciousness, which may well explain the “single use” mindset that many of us operate in. Brands that are looking to augment their track record with the planet must think about their products’ journey from start to end.

Consider, what does the customer do with your products’ packaging? The most likely answer is throwing it in the bin. Therefore, to truly reassess your brand’s environmental footprint, you not only need to consider the manufacturing of your product, but also its packaging.

At RooCreate, we now not only offer eco-friendly pouches, bags and boxes, but also labels, stickers and sleeves. Again, creating an aesthetically pleasing product packaging that is 100% recyclable.

While non-recyclable products will spend the rest of their days in landfill (and probably outlive the people that created them) recyclable packaging can be given new life – over and over and over again. In fact, cardboard and paper can usually be recycled up to eight times before the fibres are too weak to recycle again. At this stage, the materials can be turned into compost where they will break down naturally.

3. Seriously good-looking packaging.

Sustainable packaging has come a long way in recent times. As designers experiment with new and innovative materials, we’re seeing more and more designs that showcase exactly what sustainable materials are capable of.

Thankfully, the brown box is no longer the only packaging option for the environmentally conscious brand. Instead, there’s some great designs out there that are proof that good design and sustainability are no longer mutually exclusive. In fact, eco-friendly designs are leading the trend.

It’s time to take action

Sustainable business is all about being aware, listening to what your consumers want and making proactive changes towards a better future.

At Rooland and RooCreate our goal is to inspire businesses to implement innovative design practices that will reduce their carbon footprint and eliminate unnecessary waste in product packaging—a huge benefit for the consumer and mother earth.

Eco-friendly packaging is alive and well, but our vision to fuse together branding design and packaging into one sustainable practice is a new and exciting method of marketing for business owners around the globe.

For more information about our sustainable marketing offering, visit: www.roocreate.com.

About Suzanne Haddon

A veteran in the creative design industry, Suzanne Haddon is the Founder of Rooland and RooCreate, two Wollongong-based creative studios that create long-lasting brand experiences with a focus on sustainability. Suzanne specialises in brand design services including branding, packaging, digital and print design, and brings over 25-years of international brand experience to the table, with major global brands such as Nike, Starbucks Coffee and Max Factor included in her portfolio. Her mission is clear: to revolutionise the branding design and packaging industry and save the planet. Through Rooland, Suzanne is taking proactive steps to see this mission come to life as she works with clients to move towards eco-friendly alternatives that fit within their budget.

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