We’re all eager to find ways to look after our planet. We do this in our everyday lives by recycling, or cycling to work instead of driving, all in the hope that we can reduce our carbon footprint. These values are reflected in the products we buy too, and more companies are choosing to use environmentally friendly food packaging, whether that’s food platter boxes, takeaway coffee cups, or burger boxes, we are all doing our bit to help the earth. Here is what you need to know about eco-friendly packaging and how much this solution could cost you. 

What is eco-friendly food packaging? 

Eco-friendly food packaging is a more sustainable way for takeaways, cafes, and street food vendors to package their products. With single-use plastic having a negative impact on our planet, companies are using alternatives such as paper, cardboard, and other bio-degradable materials to work towards becoming more sustainable. Re-usable packaging is also becoming more popular with items such as glass bottles for drinks and desserts, and re-useable bags to name a few. Eco-friendly packaging can come in all shapes and sizes from sandwich bags to coffee cups, napkins, and cutlery – there is something to suit everyone. 

Who can use it? 

There is a range of companies and food establishments that could benefit from using more sustainable product packaging. We’ll look at a few of them below: 

    • Cafes – Eco-friendly products would be a great addition to any café, with bio-degradable takeaway coffee cups, napkins, cake boxes, and cutlery available. 
    • Takeaways – it is common to see takeaway boxes and pizza boxes littering our streets. Takeaway restaurants are popular and choosing to provide customers with more sustainable packaging such as clamshells, burger and pizza boxes and paper bags could make such a difference to our environment. 
  • Bakeries – Bakeries could benefit from changing up their packaging. With a lot of bakeries providing takeaway options, the use of eco-friendly muffin wraps, and cake boxes would be advantageous. 
  • Street food vendors – Vendors that deal solely with takeaway food could help the planet by making a positive change when it comes to packaging. A lot of street food cartons and containers end up discarded, but by using eco-friendly plates, bowls, and deli tubs, they can choose an option that degrades back into the earth if it doesn’t quite make it to the bin. 

How much does it cost? 

You may notice that eco-friendly products tend to be more expensive than traditional products. This is for several reasons – sustainable products tend to use materials that are more expensive to grow and produce. Another factor that may lead to sustainable products being more expensive is that there is not as much of a demand for them currently. But you can change this. If we all make a few small changes and decide to purchase an eco-friendly product over your cheaper, traditional products, we can slowly increase the demand for sustainability, and this will contribute to a lower price.  

If you’re looking to make the switch to more sustainable food packaging products within your company, there are a range of suppliers that you could use that will offer a discount when you buy in bulk. You can be the change!