As if that wasn’t enough, sustainability requirements add another layer of complexity to these problems. Customers continue to demand more from the brands they buy from, with sustainable packaging beginning to overtake both function and innovation as the leading concern for buyers. But how can companies overcome the above concerns while ensuring they’re not compromising on sustainability?
To help, we’ve collated direct consumer data to prove how vital eco-friendly packaging for electronics is. We’ll also cover how sustainable changes can be utilized alongside other strategies to combat some of the many industry-wide challenges companies face right now.
In addition to the vital contributions sustainable packaging can make toward a greener future, the ongoing global demand for more eco-friendly packaging solutions is supported by direct customer research.
Customers are shifting their spending patterns toward companies that can evidence their green credentials. Since packaging for electronics is often the first significant touchpoint in the consumer experience, particularly for online buyers, these products must be able to use their packaging to convey their sustainability alongside their brand. That includes low-volume and high-volume electronics, from wearables and headphones to gaming peripherals.
However, sustainability can often be at odds with budgets and current operations. Consumer electronics companies today are also required to navigate significant sector-wide concerns that can compromise plans to adopt sustainable packaging.
As with several other sectors today, price rises for essential components, as well as energy and fuel, mean the consumer electronics market is forced to operate in an increasingly volatile financial climate.
When considering more eco-friendly packaging for electronics products, decision-makers should use the data available to them. By leveraging consumer data, packaging solutions can be modified to meet the strongest current customer requests, meaning the expense of adopting sustainable approaches goes entirely towards packaging changes with a proven impact on buying patterns.
While a similarly large proportion of consumers review whether the packaging has been made of recyclable materials, by focusing spending on recyclable packaging with a design that can be easily taken apart, companies can better apply their budget to embrace a proven sustainable packaging model with clear impacts.
Consumer electronics products are often constructed from various components, so material costs and shortages significantly impact the entire sector. Similarly, talented and experienced employees must prepare, distribute and market these products effectively to end users.
These concerns, such as the ongoing chip shortage, impact product manufacturing processes. But taking a reductionist approach to packaging solutions can be a reliable way for companies to combat some of the costs incurred by these shortages. By reducing the number of containers used in their packaging for electronics, companies can lessen the number of packaging materials used, thereby becoming more cost-effective and more sustainable.
It’s important to note that reducing containers doesn’t mean simplifying consumer electronics packaging entirely. E-commerce trends are driving more protective and individually customized packaging solutions and more complex designs that can enhance a company’s overall brand experience. Therefore, consumer electronics companies should reduce containers to tackle price rises and shortages while also considering ways of innovating their packaging designs.
Tariffs, coronavirus complications, and other significant supply chain concerns continue to impact consumer electronics businesses, many of whom manufacture and assemble products in Asia before distributing them worldwide. Decision makers today should be thinking about scope 3 emissions alongside other sustainability measures, and one way to reduce these impacts can be through adopting a hybrid supply chain where production is handled in-country.
Manufacturing locally can help reduce the overall emissions of operations while enabling companies to be more responsive to adjustments like new product introductions or unexpected demand changes. This approach can also ensure companies are hit with fewer tariffs for moving goods. To help accomplish this with our packaging solutions, GPA operates three super-sites in North America, Asia, and Europe, where we source and transport packaging materials locally to reduce environmental impacts. You can find out more about this in our latest Sustainability Report.
These are just some of the many ways moving towards more sustainable packaging in the consumer electronics industry can help businesses navigate sector-wide problems that are primarily outside their control.
GPA Global has a track record of providing successful, sustainable packaging for electronics companies worldwide. We’ve designed innovative packaging for headphones, watches, wearables, baby monitors, and more, many of which you can review on our electronics portfolio. Our recent success stories also include reducing landfill potential by 35% and greenhouse gas emissions by 33% for one of our global clients.
Or, if you’d like to find out more about our specific packaging solutions for consumer electronics, you can contact our team here.
