Packaging is a hotly debated topic and has gained extreme traction in the environmental aspect of packaging materials in recent years.
Due to the increased production of plastic and other materials and the impact on the environment, it has become increasingly important for many manufacturers to find sustainable solutions for packaging .
Especially in this time when climate change has become an incredibly important issue, more attention must be paid to packaging materials.
As a result, it has become important for more and more people not only to buy sustainable products but also to pay attention to what packaging the products are in.
Nowadays, the exclusion criterion is increasingly whether products are produced and packaged as climate-neutral and environmentally friendly as possible.
But how should you orient yourself in this jungle of different packaging materials, and which of these materials are easily recyclable and not harmful to the environment?
What are the differences and special features of the different materials? And how can you make sure you buy the right products for your healthy breakfast ? We will get to the bottom of these questions in today's blog post.
Sustainable packaging material – which ones are there?
There are many answers to the question of sustainable packaging material. If you think about how much packaging material is actually in circulation in everyday life, you will quickly realize that it has become indispensable. From supermarkets to drugstores, from toothpaste to cheese packaging. Humans produce waste – of which an extremely large amount is packaging waste – around the clock.
It is also thanks to these different products and packaging materials that many people are looking for alternatives. There are now packaging-free supermarkets, and conventional supermarkets are also paying more and more attention to what is used as packaging material. This trend is also making regional, direct buying from the farmer or the farmer you trust increasingly attractive. And where does it taste better? Exactly – nowhere 😉
In the next few lines, we will describe the various ways of packaging products and how sustainable they are. From glass to plastic, we'll show you all the possibilities.
Glass – how sustainable is it?
Before the world invented and found plastic as standard packaging, glass was the pioneer in terms of "sustainability". At that time, however, not so much was known about environmental issues. With the introduction of plastic, glass had to soften as much as possible. In recent years, the trend has declined again – milk and juices, for example, are now increasingly packed in glass. But why did glass have to give way to plastic? And why is glass said to be not so much better than plastic?
Glass is not necessarily the salvation from our sustainability problems. Thus, the production consumes a lot of energy. High temperatures and non-standard systems lead to major problems here. Glass is also translucent and leads to unfavourable situations when stored. However, these negative points are not the whole truth. When is glass really sustainable?
Glass is perfect as a regional alternative. Short transport distances, reusable glasses and, above all, large packaging. Then it makes perfect sense to use glass as a packaging material.
Cardboard as packaging material
Cardboard was and still is THE RECYCLING hit. This way, cardboard can be used over and over again – in different colours and shapes. Properly recycled, cardboard is one of our strongest weapons in the fight against the mountains of garbage in the world. There is virtually no garbage left.
Wood is the most important and often the only raw material. Some forms of paper and cardboard are made of grass. Especially when it comes to CO2, recyclable cardboard does extremely well. This keeps the ecological footprint of cartonboard purchases extremely small. A disadvantage of cardboard, for example, is its robustness. With a little caution, this should not be a problem.
The plastic devil – is plastic really that bad for the environment?
Plastic is ruining the world. Huge mountains of garbage, endless ocean pollution, and plastic everywhere as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, these pictures are a sad reality – but how much devil is there in plastic?
Due to the increased perception of environmentally harmful practices and the ever-louder calls for climate neutrality, plastic has been put in a bad light over the last few years. And to a certain extent, these prejudices are also true. Plastic has certainly contributed to the pollution. However, the material can only be blamed to a certain extent – man is, as in many cases, the main culprit. Poor disposal, no recycling, and a lack of knowledge and education is the biggest problem here.
Plastic offers many opportunities. Due to the outcry of recent years, a lot has happened in this area. New technologies are currently being developed that make plastics more degradable and economically harmless. Until real alternatives are found, we have to come to terms with plastic – the advantages outweigh here: protection against external influences (including weather, vermin) and a longer best before date to prevent food waste. If possible, you should definitely refrain from buying plastic. For fruits and vegetables, for example, you don't need plastic packaging. In this way, you can keep your plastic consumption within limits and live a considerate life.
However, it should be said that plastic is currently the only material that makes products properly durable in many foods (such as dry products). By the way, plastic is only useful if it is properly recycled!
Packaging materials at Verival
We at Verival have spent many hours thinking about the topic of "sustainable packaging". In our quality department, we are constantly looking for packaging alternatives and take a close look at the various ways in which products can be packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
At Verival, we use cardboard and plastic as packaging material. The important thing here is that we are careful not to use a mix of materials. This is very difficult to recycle, and therefore very polluting.
Our cardboard and plastic are very recyclable because we only use one material at a time. At Verival, we have also received the Made for Recycling award for this. This means that our packaging is made for recycling, as we do not use mixed materials. (We do not mix substances!) In addition, we are constantly working on improving our packaging and have managed to save a lot of packaging material by reducing the size of our outer carton. You can find more information about our packaging and our 360-degree social responsibility approach here.
Our organic porridges, granolas and cereals are packaged to these high standards. So you can do your part to a better planet already at breakfast.
We are also not at all averse to the topic of "compostable". "Compostable" materials are meant when the packaging dissolves by itself again – i.e. is composted. However, the problem with this form of packaging is this: in most cases, the packaging does not lie on the ground long enough to be able to compost properly. In addition, the durability of these materials is currently still very limited. We deliberately say 'currently‘ because we are constantly looking for more sustainable packaging solutions!
Social responsibility is important to us!
What does Social R actually mean
esponsibility ? The term actually means the voluntary contribution to the protection of the environment that goes beyond the legal requirements. At Verival, we not only want to comply with the legal requirements, but also contribute to a more sustainable world.
In addition, Verival is a "green brand" – as a small organic manufacturer, it is particularly important to us to take social and environmental responsibility. That is why we have been awarded the GREEN BRAND seal of approval, which ensures that we make an effective contribution to the protection of nature, the environment, and the climate, as well as to the preservation of the natural habitat.
Our goals are not only in the environmental field. Socio-cultural goals are also important to us. That is why we focus on diversity and the promotion of women in management positions. If you want to know more about our personal responsibility, you can visit our Social Responsibility page.
