With consumers becoming more ethically conscious, the demand for sustainability is increasing. Accenture sustainability survey reported that 87% of consumers prefer buying products that have sustainable packaging, establishing sustainability as a fundamental aspect of a consumers purchase decision.
Eco-friendly packaging can add great value to your product, encourage an ethically conscious brand image as well as developing consumer loyalty. With customers being increasingly aware of packaging’s detriment to the environment, businesses are forced to adapt and be environmentally and waste aware. Furthermore, making corporate social responsibility a necessity for businesses.
So unquestionably the pressure is on for businesses and the printing industry.
The driving force shaping the label industry to be more sustainable are predominantly consumers. Customers’ expectations of brands have made significant changes in the industry leading to brands reconsidering their packaging decisions. This paradigm shift has ultimately led to great innovations and opportunity in the printing industry in order to meet the expectations and needs of the sustainable consumer.
The main factors being measured by the label market are social responsibility, regulatory frameworks and most importantly consumer demand. Although the issue of sustainability is more prevalent than ever, environmental solutions are very costly and for small businesses it is hard to meet expectations of consumers until the sustainable solutions become more mainstream.
As a result of consumer demand, an eco-friendly label industry has an enormous future, however key analysts note that the vision will only have full momentum when the government enforces stricter sustainability regulations and develops clear recycling channels.
What we are doing
At JH Davenport’s we are committed to recycling all post-production waste possible. Our biggest sustainability challenge is the use of polypropylene plastic that is not recyclable. However, there has been major breakthroughs in biodegradable plastic packaging, which would be something we would be interested in looking into when it comes to mainstream markets. At the moment we offer recycled paper on customer request, reducing our carbon footprint and decreasing our use of virgin raw materials. However, virgin paper is all sustainably managed by our global raw material suppliers. All waste cardboard and polythene from packaging and wood from pallets are reused wherever possible and otherwise recycled via certified waste disposal streams and therefore does not go to landfill.
The revolutionary introduction of our digital press will enable us to operate in a more sustainable way as it creates less wastage of paper and ink. The new machine also allows for more techniques such as cast and cure which can create the foiled and holographic aesthetic in an eco-friendlier way compared to previous flexographic methods. We are a fifth-generation printing business and we are proud to have seen amazing innovations in the industry throughout the decades. We are excited to see what will happen in the future for printing and sustainability and look forward to adapting to the changes made.
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