At the start of the year, the so-called plastic tax and regulations restricting the placing of single-use plastic products on the market came into force across the entire European Union. Although the regulations themselves were passed back in 2018, single-use plastics will gradually disappear from our lives. This also applies to non-eco-friendly postal packaging. What consequences will the plastic tax have for online sellers and buyers?
The first signs that the end was approaching for the bubble wrap so popular in shipments appeared almost three years ago. In the meantime, many shops decided on their own to introduce eco-friendly packaging to their offering. They replaced bubble wrap with biodegradable fillers, plastic tape with recyclable tape, and the cardboard boxes themselves with recycled cardboard.
Eco-friendly = more expensive?
– It is difficult to say whether eco-friendly packaging is always more expensive. Much depends on the type of materials used, as the choice of eco packaging and fillers today is very wide – comments Artur Halik, Head of Sales at the Shoper online store platform. - We can already see that more and more sellers running their own online store are deciding to introduce eco-friendly solutions, which buyers are also increasingly looking for in shops.
Eco-friendly = more expensive?
According to a study conducted by Raconteur, the higher cost of eco-friendly packaging is a frequently raised concern among online store owners. In Poland, however, the opposite may be true – the draft bill, although still only being consulted with experts, assumes an additional fee for those who still want to buy in single-use plastic packaging.
What nobody expected were the rising prices of cardboard, which quite coincidentally coincided with the entry into force of the new EU regulations. The closure of five of the most environmentally harmful paper mills in China reduced the amount of cardboard produced, lengthened the waiting time for ordered boxes, and also raised their prices. This, however, is a temporary slowdown.
The EU to the planet's rescue
The EU to the planet's rescue
In the latest study of Poles' environmental attitudes conducted for Blue Media, 40 percent of our compatriots declare that they would be able to pay extra for packaging other than plastic. This is good news, especially since this percentage has increased by 5 percentage points since last year.
Plastic and other synthetic materials account for more than 80 percent of marine waste, half of which consists of single-use products. Microplastics and the remnants of plastics floating in the oceans are becoming an invisible threat to animals living in the aquatic environment and its surroundings – fish, birds, turtles, and whales. Let us also not forget that, when it enters the digestive tract of fish, microplastics also end up in our own bodies.
E-commerce's plastic revolution: what do the new fees mean?
E-commerce's plastic revolution: costs for sellers and buyers
The European Commission, in introducing regulations banning the use of single-use plastic products, conditioned its decision on the need to reduce plastic waste. Although Poland had just under three years to introduce its own regulations, it is introducing national laws at the last moment, and their specific shape will become known in the coming weeks.
Eco-trends in e-commerce
Eco-trends in e-commerce
The e-commerce industry should not, however, worry about a possible increase in shipping or product prices associated with the new law. Among online stores on the Shoper platform, eco-friendly packaging is nothing new – offered as one of the options or – increasingly often – as the only possible packaging for an order, it enjoys considerable popularity among buyers.
An example is the shop Skład Prosty operating on the Shoper platform, whose founders pack shipped products in recycled paper and corrugated cardboard, fill them with Skropak, which is 100% biodegradable, and use paper tape or simply string to seal the packages. The Mniej Więcej shop also packs in recovered materials. The Lilliow shop also boasts the use of biodegradable packaging. Meanwhile, the online Cantino has specialized precisely in the sale of eco-friendly packaging – mainly for the food service industry.
– In Poland, interest in activities that could be somewhat more environmentally friendly than our current lifestyle is constantly growing. However, it is still not easy to find eco-friendly products in one's area, or for their producers to find a sufficient number of customers through traditional distribution channels. Selling online often turns out to be the best way to reach people who are aware, increasingly demanding, and care about the natural environment – comments Artur Halik of Shoper. – The ability to offer a product and handle an order that would be environmentally friendly from A to Z is increasingly an important advantage that tips the balance in customers' choice of shop.
Summary
Since the beginning of the year, EU regulations restricting single-use plastic products, including e-commerce shipment packaging, have been in force. Although Polish laws are still being refined, online sellers are increasingly willing to reach for eco-friendly solutions – from biodegradable fillers to recycled tape and cardboard boxes.
According to the article, the higher cost of eco-friendly packaging does not have to be the rule, and additional concerns are raised by the rising prices of cardboard after the closure of paper mills in China. Meanwhile, 40 percent of Poles declare a willingness to pay more for packaging other than plastic – which confirms the trend that shops such as Skład Prosty and Mniej Więcej are using in their daily operations.
