E-Commerce mailer bags made from BillerudKorsnäs’ Xpression E-com paper have 50 percent lower fossil emissions than virgin plastic mailer bags and using this leads to the removal of biogenic carbon from the atmosphere. This is proven by a new independent study that compares the environmental impact of different types of e-commerce packaging.
The global E-commerce market was already growing faster than other traditional channels prior to Covid-19, but the pandemic has boosted the move from brick and mortar stores to online purchasing. This transition is driving demand for packaging and increasing the stress on the planet from packaging waste. Retailers are currently stocking up for the Black Friday purchasing frenzy, the one-day event that has long been considered the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season. E-commerce mailer bags made of Xpression E-com paper is one opportunity to meet the customer’s increasing demand for sustainability and will reduce the environmental impact of this surge in shopping.
“ BillerudKorsnäs’ mission to challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future clearly sets out why we exist how we view our role in society. Xpression E-com is a classic example of how we think outside the box when fighting climate change and reducing plastic waste”, says Malin Ljung Eiborn, Director of Sustainability at BillerudKorsnäs.
As a world-leading provider of sustainable packaging material, BillerudKorsnäs has developed Xpression E-com, a durable, resilient and recyclable paper specifically designed for E-commerce paper mailers. The environmental benefit of using Xpression E-com instead of plastic or recycled corrugated material has now been confirmed in a Life Cycle Analysis performed by RISE Research Institute of Sweden.
The Life Cycle Analyses considers the environmental impacts from raw material input, production, transport and disposal. The results show that choosing a mailer bag made from unbleached Xpression E-com will reduce fossil emissions by 50 percent when compared to a virgin plastic mailer bag. The findings are robust and hold true, even across the whole range of parameters considered in the sensitivity analysis, such as different material specifications, location and end-of-life assumptions.
‘’The importance of E-commerce has increased for many retailers as traditional Brick and Mortar sales channels have lost significant market share to online purchasing since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. This strong and sudden shift to E-commerce increases the focus on E-commerce packaging as an opportunity to communicate, and ultimately build a stronger relationship, with customers. We hope that this study will assist online retailers in making the correct decision when reviewing their packaging choices for the last mile delivery and ensuring that their customers get the sustainable alternatives they want.’’, says Valdemar Forsblom, Project Manager at BillerudKorsnäs.
Since the paper mailer bag is recyclable and manufactured by BillerudKorsnäs’ near fossil free production units, the overall conclusion from the analysis is that Xpression E-com mailer bags have a significant advantage over plastic mailer bags and boxes of recycled corrugated material. When biogenic emissions are included, the study shows that 1,000 mailer bags of Xpression E-com remove 50 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere across the life cycle. The paper is also better for the environment when considering emissions to air, water and soil that leads to eutrophication.
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