Sustainability means a lot to us at Redmont, which is why we make sure our range of packaging supplies also caters to eco-conscious senders. One such product on offer is our packing chips (also known as packing peanuts). These small pellets are a great postal product due to a number of practical and environmental advantages, ranging from their protection and antistatic nature to their safety and easy disposability. The popularity of biodegradable packing chips has risen among e-commerce businesses, and this demand has only been further propelled by external factors such as modern customer preferences and branding opportunities. But what exactly are these chips, and why are they so beneficial from a practical and environmental standpoint?  

What Are Biodegradable Packing Chips?

These chips look a lot like their traditional counterparts and serve the same purpose. However, eco-friendly packing peanuts are made from completely different things. Whilst normal packing chips are usually made from expanded polystyrene, biodegradable variants are typically made from renewable resources like cornflour, potato starch, wheat, and other plant-based polymers. This composition means they can break down rather quickly when discarded (in a matter of weeks under the right conditions), making them much better for the environment than polystyrene peanuts, which can take hundreds of years to fully decompose!  

Practical and Environmental Benefits of Biodegradable Packing Chips

These packing chips aren’t just useful because they’re low impact! They also have a number of practical and environmental benefits that make them a solid postal product to opt for when mailing your items. Here’s a breakdown of the numerous benefits of eco-friendly packing chips:  

Lightweight

Like with regular packing peanuts, biodegradable packing chips are ultra-light. This means they’re unlikely to add large amounts of weight to your shipping items, which can help lower postage costs.

Protective

What good would packaging be if it didn’t offer protection? Decomposable packing chips are able to safeguard items in a number of ways. Firstly, they absorb shock from impacts, helping shield contents from damage. Secondly, they can reduce the potential number of bumps and knocks by filling in a box’s gaps, meaning items are less likely to roll around.

Antistatic

This kind of packaging is also antistatic, which means that plant-based packing chips are safe for shipping even delicate electronic items such as microchips, circuit boards, and processors.

Easy to Dispose of at Home

Customers can easily discard biodegradable packing chips at home, whether that means dissolving them in water or chucking them into their back garden compost.

Non-Toxic

Since they’re made from materials like cornflour or wheat, these packing peanuts are safe for humans and animals, as they aren’t toxic and don’t produce any harmful residues during decomposition.

Positive Customer Perception

Don’t forget about customer perception! Using sustainable packaging, such as biodegradable packing chips, means you’re showing your consumer base your environmental awareness, which could improve customer trust as well as your brand image!  

Why E-Commerce Businesses Are Making the Switch

Whilst there are many practical benefits of biodegradable packing peanuts, this isn’t the only reason why e-commerce businesses are choosing them. External factors, like customer preferences and branding opportunities, are also major driving forces behind e-commerce businesses substituting regular packing peanuts for plant-based ones. Here’s a detailed overview of some outside factors that have contributed to the growing popularity of eco-friendly packing peanuts:  

Customer Preferences for Green Business Products/Practices

In this day and age, customers are now more aware of the environment and show preference for greener products and business practices. According to one UK study of 2,000 British shoppers, two in three people would prefer to buy products that have a more positive environmental impact. Another UK study also found that 96% of their surveyed UK customers have purchased eco-friendly products before. With statistics like these, it’s important for e-commerce businesses in Britain to make their products and practices less harmful towards the planet, and an easy way they’ve been achieving this is through making their packaging more sustainable.  

Branding Through Sustainability

The e-commerce industry is crowded and competitive, meaning businesses need to stand out with special and convincing brand identities at every possible opportunity. Packaging isn’t just about protection anymore; it’s now also a fundamental part of a brand, allowing businesses to show customers firsthand that they believe in the welfare of the planet. Think of it this way: when an eco-conscious customer receives an order and sees that the packaging is plastic-free, recyclable, and even compostable, they can immediately identify the business’ intentions and emotionally connect with them. The branding potential that sustainable packaging can offer has sprung e-commerce businesses into choosing mailing items like biodegradable packing chips.  

In Summary

Biodegradable packing chips have become a go-to packaging option for e-commerce businesses due to a number of practical benefits they have, including the protection they offer, their lightness (which can reduce shipping costs), and their antistatic properties. There are also several environmental benefits that make biodegradable packing chips stand out. They’re easy for customers to dispose of at home, and they’re non-toxic, making them safe, even when they degrade! Not only that, these kinds of chips can also bring about a more positive customer perception, as they can signal that businesses care for the planet. A few external factors have only further driven the popularity of this postal product. For example, degradable packing chips have now given companies the chance to adopt a simple practice that makes their products have a more positive environmental impact, making their offerings more desirable in the process. Bottom line, there’s a lot for e-commerce businesses to gain when they opt for sustainable packaging like eco-friendly packing peanuts, so it’s no surprise why they have risen in popularity within this industry and continue to do so.  

Now Is the Time

Our ECO Flo Loose Fill Packing Chips are high quality and can help secure your goods when in transit. They’re also easy to use, odourless, compostable, and are discounted when you buy 4 bags or more! With these packing peanuts, your e-commerce brand can protect its products and sell a sustainable image to customers. If you have any questions about our packing chips or other products, then please email [email protected].