Corporate and institutional buyers of everything from carpets to car parts are looking upstream for solutions, asking suppliers to, variously, reduce or eliminate packaging, eliminate toxic materials, use more organic or biobased ingredients, and take other measures to green up their products and operations.
This fall, New York correctional institutions plan to eliminate package delivery for inmates, with the exception of items ordered from a short list of approved prison venders.
(In the event the United States is eliminated, the package follows the team that beats them).
For example, eliminating food packaging and moving to reusable packaging would require huge upheaval in terms of supply chain logistics, supermarket structure, role of brand and marketing professionals and consumer behaviour.
By 2020 the company aims to reduce the weight of packaging by one third through lighter materials, optimising structural and material design, developing more concentrated products and eliminating unnecessary packaging.
More retail companies are realising the advantages of using recycled materials and eliminating unnecessary packaging.
We concluded that frozen storage and the development of frozen kefir products could eliminate most packaging concerns associated with the large-scale manufacture of traditionally produced kefir, resulting in increased production and marketability of this healthful product.
McDonald's previously vowed to eliminate foam packaging from its global supply chain by the end of 2018.
Energy and environmental costs are further reduced by eliminating plastic packaging and the long-haul transport of produce.
"[It] also helps eliminate excess packaging and reduce spoilage and waste, which means even more savings," Enke says.
