Beyond Bamboo Packaging Guidelines

Sustainable Packaging

Packing is one of the biggest issues facing environmentally responsible online sellers and Beyond Bamboo is striving to encourage best practices.

Here are some guidelines to help your packaging become more sustainable and some resources to help you achieve your goals.

We encourage our sellers to adopt as many as possible – even if you only change one aspect of your packing for the better for now, it makes a difference and your customers will notice the effort you make.

Here is a great article to get started with:

https://greenbusinessbureau.com/blog/8-eco-friendly-packaging-alternatives-for-your-businesss-shipping-needs/

Beyond Bamboo Packaging Guidelines

Keep box sixes to an absolute minimum.

Do not put already boxed items within boxes – just put the shipping label on the original packaging.

Consolidate orders to the same customer into one box.

We strongly recommend using previously used boxes.

There are lots of good companies that supply pre used boxes (*see some UK suppliers below) or you can collect them for free from supermarkets and recycling centres.Your customers won’t mind if the box is previously printed on the outside or has some imperfections – they will respect that you are giving it a second life and not using planetary resources.

If you can’t use previously used boxes, use boxes made from recycled cardboard (*see some UK suppliers below).

Do not use any plastic or polystyrene packaging. Use recycled paper for fillings. Scrunched up newspaper or scrunched up / shredded magazines work well. Or for those very precious items, have you considered plain pop corn ! you can buy it in bulk ready popped. Alternatively there are many suppliers of recycled packing materials including paper bubble wrap. (*see some UK suppliers below).

Do not use plastic tape to seal boxes – use compostable tapes. (*see list of UK suppliers below).

Use courier services that have electric vehicles or other sustainable transport options. (*see list of UK couriers below)

Some Supplier Resources To Help You On Your Way

To help you on the path to more sustainable packing, we have done some basic vetting on the companies in the listings below.

However, please note that we are not able to make official recommendations and Bamboo has no affiliation to any of the companies below. We are not responsible for their service delivery.

We encourage you to find suppliers as local to you as possible and to do your own research into their customer service record – there are many companies that sell sustainable packing products – the listing below is just a few to give you some idea of what’s available.

Some of the companies listed below also sell non sustainable products, but they all have at least some sustainable packaging products for sale on their sites.

If you have any feedback on any of the companies we list here, or would like to suggest any additions to the list please let us know

We wish you a great time on your journey to embracing sustainable packaging!

Pre Used Cardboard Box Suppliers

https://sadlers.co.uk/collections/used-cardboard-boxes/#/

https://www.reuseabox.co.uk/product-category/all-cardboard-boxes/

https://www.facebook.com/nortonpackaging/

New Cardboard Box Suppliers Using Recycled Materials

https://www.tinyboxcompany.co.uk/sustainability

https://www.boxsupplies.co.uk/recycled-cardboard-boxes/

https://abcbox.co.uk/environmental/

Recycled Packing Materials Suppliers

Paper bubble wrap - https://www.kitepackaging.co.uk/scp/bubble-wrap/paper-bubble-wrap/