Marisan investigates ecological alternatives for the classic shipping bags

Society is moving towards circular packaging

According to the Interregional Packaging Commission (IVC), each of us produces about one kg of household waste every day. On top of that, every year we add another 3,500 kg of industrial waste per person, which comes from the production of our consumer goods. This is also called the ‘hidden waste’, since as a consumer you only get to see a small part of it in the form of products.

Fortunately, making the packaging process more sustainable is becoming an increasingly important pillar within companies. We are all aware that there are many different solutions to reduce material consumption. This awareness is a first necessary step in the switch to ecological packaging materials.

At Marisan, we do our part to make the world more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Although plastic packaging is still interesting for their valued properties, we are also actively looking for possible alternatives.

We are convinced that the current shift from offline to online shopping also requires new innovations based on packaging solutions. The heaps of single-use packaging materials are piling up. It’s time to change that. Our challenge: to create a packaging concept in which the shipping packaging can be reused, meets ecological standards and is made with sustainability in mind.

We have been investigating an alternative to shipping packaging for some time now: shipping bags made from jute. A packaging concept aimed at being used frequently within the logistics chain. This packaging can be used as return packaging, or can be reused by the consumer as a new packaging product. The shipping bags are made of 100% biodegradable jute and contain many possibilities in terms of branding, sizes and options after use.

Options after use, what exactly do we mean by that?

We are considering options such as coupon systems to encourage consumers to return the packaging to the (online) retailer.
Packaging carousels can be set up between producers and retailers or between the central warehouse and the retail outlets. Jute can be reused up to 100 times or more, and, for example, adding a zipper makes reopening the shipping packaging very easy.

The project is in the development phase. The first samples have already been made and we are now working on them. Together with our partners, we continue to tinker with the shipping bag to take it to a higher and thus circular level.