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You asked for it, and you got it. We’re proud to announce that after many requests, Replica Belts has made the change to eco-friendly packaging. Below, our supplier noissue shares all the deets on our new compostable mailer bags, including why these have far less impact on the environment, as well as how to dispose of them properly.
With annual ecommerce sales worldwide predicted to hit $4.5 trillion by 2021, it’s safe to say the online shopping market is booming, which is great news for brands. What it's not so great for? The environment.
A lot of ecommerce orders are shipped out in polyethylene (poly) plastic mailers. While this material can be recycled, it tends not to be. Because poly mailers are lightweight, they can cause all sorts of problems at recycling centers like getting tangled up in sorting machinery. So instead, poly mailers are likely to end up in the trash. If poly isn’t recycled, this material can take hundreds of years to biodegrade. As a petroleum-based material, it also releases harmful residues and chemicals during this process, which isn’t good news for our planet.
And speaking of plastic recycling: Did you know that between 1950 and 2015 only nine percent of the world’s plastic was recycled? The rest either ended up in our landfills or our oceans—an outcome that no one wants in the future for our earth’s fragile ecosystems. While it’s unrealistic to expect to eliminate plastic completely anytime soon, the world is waking up to the extent of this problem. As a result, businesses are making smarter and more sustainable choices.
Garmentory has been making moves in the sustainability space and holds sustainable design as one of its values. By switching to our compostable mailer bags, Replica Belts is choosing an option that’s far less impactful on the environment.
If you’re not sure on what this compostable packaging business is about, read on for why this is a move in the right direction.
Compostable packaging is an eco-friendly alternative to plastic because it uses the principles of the circular economy. This means our mailer bags are made of materials that break down in a natural way and return to the earth without harm being done to the environment.
While a poly mailer can take hundreds of years to break down and contributes to the world’s massive plastic problem, a compostable mailer takes 90 days to break down in commercial compost and 180 days to break down in an at-home compost (including worm-farm composting). Yes, these mailers are natural enough for worms to eat. This is because they’re made from PLA (plant materials such as field corn and wheat straw) and PBAT, a bio-based polymer.
The plants used in the process of creating these mailers make up less than 0.05 percent of the annual global corn crop, so this means they have a low environmental impact. They’ve also been proven to not leave any harmful residues behind, unlike a poly mailer, which leeches chemicals into the environment.
Step One: Remove any adhesive from your compostable mailer For best results, remove any plastic stickers from your compostable mailer such as shipping labels, stickers and packaging tape.
Step Two: Compost it If you already have a home compost in your garden, then you’re good to go! Just place your compostable mailer on the heap and let it do its thing. Check back in six months to see its progress.
If you don't have a compost pile at home, check to see if there's a community compost heap or a composting pick-up service available in your area. If you want to create your own, sites like Gardening Know How offer a guide on how to compost and how to set up a compost heap, and it’s a lot easier than most people think!
We know that consumers have high expectations for businesses to reduce their impact on the world, and the fashion industry is not exempt from this. It has been a notoriously bad offender when it comes to the environment, so it’s on us to constantly reassess, improve, and make changes where we can.
Small choices can make all the difference, so we're excited to see Replica Belts making the shift to sustainable packaging.
