The e-commerce packaging sector is moving towards more environmentally-friendly solutions. Mondi, a major player in sustainable packaging solutions, has teamed up with Amazon to offer an alternative to plastic with 100% paper envelopes. This launch raises several key issues for packaging industry professionals.
Today's packaging professionals have to respond to growing consumer demand and regulations aimed at reducing the use of single-use plastics. By offering a paper solution, Mondi enables e-commerce companies to comply with these new requirements, while ensuring product protection during transport.
Reducing dependence on plastic materials: an environmental challenge
Replacing plastic pads with paper means rethinking the physical and mechanical properties of packaging. The choice of kraft paper, renowned for its strength, plays a key role in this transition. With a fibrous base of light but strong kraft paper, Mondiâ??s Protective Mailersâeuros¯ must offer resistance to shocks, crushing and handling during transport.
By opting for an open-fluted material, Mondi enhances the paper's shock-absorbing properties, keeping products stable inside the envelope, even in the event of prolonged transport or difficult handling conditions. The challenge here lies in the balance between flexibility, necessary for logistical optimization, and rigidity, indispensable for guaranteeing effective protection of fragile items.
How to replace plastic bearings without compromising product safety?
One of the major difficulties in replacing plastic packaging is ensuring optimum protection for fragile products. Mondi has met this challenge by developing a corrugated paper material that prevents items from shifting inside envelopes, while ensuring that they arrive intact at their destination.
The flute architecture, inspired by corrugated manufacturing techniques, ensures greater transverse rigidity, reducing the risk of perforation or tearing. What's more, this structure enhances the envelope's flexibility, enabling it to be adapted to different volumes while ensuring good product retention.
According to a study carried out by Mondi, 58% of consumers expect to receive their parcels in recyclable or compostable packaging. Protective Mailers meet this requirement by being fully recyclable in paper waste channels. This move towards sustainable packaging is becoming a differentiating factor for e-commerce companies seeking to improve their environmental image.
Optimize costs and materials with customized packaging
One of the great innovations of these paper envelopes is the possibility of customizing their dimensions. This flexibility optimizes shipping costs by reducing empty space and adjusting the size of the packaging to that of the product. The kraft paper used is highly adaptable to size variations, saving material and reducing the cost of over-packaging.
