Why are we changing our packaging (despite it does not look that beautiful)
This year Hockerty-Sumissura has the clear purpose to become an environmentally-friendly company. We were already considering ourselves an ethical brand responsible for our employees and providers. Now we want to go a step further, so we are looking for ways to optimize the amount of waste generated by our packaging.
The packaging is known as a key part of any marketing strategy. The more beautiful you pack something, the better impact your brand has on the customer. Okay, but let's think about it again: packaging is ephemeral. In our case, packaging last just 2-3 days, since we pack your made to measure garments until you receive them at your place. So we are using paper, cardboard and plastic whose mission will last a bunch of hours. Decisions are not easy to take. You need plastics because they protect against external moisture, on the other hand, cardboard is easier to recycle than plastic.
Our first approach for sustainable fashion packaging
Said this, the first thing we decided to explore is: Is there any way we could reduce fuel emissions without compromising the quality of the delivery? And indeed, there is one way: using bags instead of boxes. We spent several weeks doing tests on several orders, and we realized that shipping a suit in a bag makes it arrive less wrinkled than sending it in a box. Yes, we were surprised too.
The second decision we took is to move away from disposable bags to recyclable-reusable ones. Depending on what order you place you will receive:
- EVA-Poliuretan Bag protecting your Suits. This bag is reusable and 100% recyclable
- PE Bags protecting your Shirts. This bag is reusable and 80% recyclable.
We admit that, for example, the sustainable packaging of our shirts may be perceived as less beautiful by some customers. From our side, we are starting to see its beauty, as we know these new bags can be re-used by our customers. Do you want to use them to store your underwear? Your makeup? Use it as a travel bag? Shoes maybe? You can use it however you want, but use it! And if you can't reuse it anymore, make sure you dispose of it properly according to your local .... ¿rules?
Next Steps
We should say that we are still not 100% happy with this approach. It's a nice step. We are greener now than before, but we can do it better. Our goal is to be able to use fungible-material bags that generate zero waste once they are disposed of.
What do you think about it? Do you want to help us be a greener company? And to become an affordable ethical fashion brand? We are open to your suggestions. Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and share with us your ideas.
