Green packaging

Green packaging or eco-packaging is something that we have been working hard on at Nappyneedz. Being an online business, we need to think about our product packaging and what we send it all out in. We haven’t got it all right but wanted to tell you about what we are trying to do.

Product packaging

We try to eliminate product packages entirely. All of our cloth nappies are completely unpackaged, which is surprising to some people. They expect the nappies to be packed into separate plastic bags. We decided that these weren’t necessary. This means that when you order one of our nappies, or a nappy pack or set, you won’t get it in any other packaging than the courier bag or box. Some of our smaller items have come from our manufacturer in plastic bags before, but we’ve been working with them to remove them all.

Now the only things that come in packages are our menstrual cups and nappy sprayers which both come in cardboard boxes. We may look at these in the future. As these are recyclable, then we have no plans at the moment. We do have a small number of wipes still in plastic bags. Wipes will not be packaged like this in the future.

Postage bags

Postage bags are a little bit more complex. Our packaging needs to protect our products. We have been looking at a number of different options for this. So far I’ve tried compostable bags, recycled bags and have looked at other options. The main problem with the compostable bags is that they need to have the labels removed. I have found that it’s really difficult to take the labels off, which means that they don’t work.

Until we can come up with something that works, we are still using our normal plastic courier bags. Plastic courier bags can be reused or recycled in the soft plastic collection at supermarkets. We reuse cardboard boxes to send out larger orders. When possible we reuse courier bags. If you would prefer us not to use plastic, please let us know when you place your order.

Green packaging options

Finding a reliable and workable option for sending out packages is turning out to be a bit of challenge. As soon as we have found something we will be switching to it for all of our parcels. If you have any suggestions for green packaging for us, then we’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.