It's about to get ugly..

Hopefully the headline was intriguing enough for you to open this blog post because it's an important one.

There has been a lot of media talk lately about sustainability in businesses. A lot of it, sadly is lip service.

When you are running a large warehouse there is a lot of packaging material moving through the building and we need to make choices to minimise our landfill rubbish where possible.

At Aussie Gardener we choose to reuse.

This means that the packaging your order arrives in isn't always going to be pretty but it is recycling and reusing effectively.

Recently we had a customer write to us after receiving her order. She was giving us some helpful feedback.

'Loved the products but was disappointed to see you used plastic as the filler material.'

I thought it was worth showing a behind the scenes look as to why we did so. I can see why this filler material may look environmentally irresponsible but there is more to it.

Incoming pallets are wrapped in strong cling wrap. Most warehouses will cut this off and throw it in their red bin (landfill)

For sure it looks ugly, but that plastic can be effectively used as filler in boxes with fragile items rather than buying NEW filler or bubble wrap.

There are lots of online businesses using beautiful packaging to send out to customers promoting that they are being 'green' but back at their warehouse they are discarding large quantities of plastic and cardboard that could have been reused. This happens in companies all over Australia and is pretty standard practice.

We hope you dont mind us sacrificing the pretty packaging and instead reusing waste products.

How about cardboard?

There is also a huge amount of cardboard coming into the warehouse from the incoming stock which is in larger cartons.

Some of these are too big to use to send orders out, so we use the guilotine and cut it into strips. These are then used to wrap products to protect them during shipping.

It looks rough, but does the job.

We have also flat packed these boxes in the past and given them back to one of our box suppliers so they can sell them as 2nd hand boxes. As Im writing this I'm reminded that we should start doing that again. We end up buying 2nd hand smaller boxes from the same company which is why you might see your Aussie Gardener order arrive in an Omo box!

Local families have reached out to us to use them as removalist boxes and we are happy to help. It's great to see them being reused.

I packed this box yesterday. It does look a bit rough but the contents inside are nicely protected.

It's another example of how we reuse as many incoming boxes as we can, to send orders back out to customers.

Certainly wouldn't win any beauty awards but it does give this box a 2nd life and in my mind, makes a lot more environmental sense than buying a new box just so that it looks pretty on our customers doorstep.

But I might be wrong? Is it doing us more harm than good from our customers point of view?

Give us your feedback.

Brian :-)

p.s. we have recently introduced new gift boxing on our Deluxe Gift sets and Hand Tools sets as we know customers need these presented well to be given as gifts.

The above article was sent out to our email list to get their feedback. We received lots of replies. 99% of them were very encouraging and loved that we explained what we were doing.

1% said we should do better and tell our suppliers to not send things wrapped in plastic.

Several made helpful suggestions like:

Create this as a blog post on your website (done!)
Add a sticker or insert into each package letting customers know you are reusing warehouse waste for packaging. (good idea)
Let local customers know you have spare cardboard as they can use it in their garden to surpress weeds and in compost (good idea)
Add this information to your website so that buyers know the type of company they are supporting (will work on this)
Changing over to paper based tapes (this is a little difficult to achieve in our current setup because the tape needs to be strong so the used boxes hold together. Also the stronger paper tapes have reinforcing threads in them that are made of plastic so unsuspecting gardeners may add these to their compost without knowing.)
Try and use plant based cling wrap on pallets. (Will look into this)
Add this to your Facebook page so we can share it (Will do)

I was also greatly encouraged to hear how our customers are then reusing the packaging we are sending them.

Cardboard is getting used to surpress weeds
Cardboard is being added to compost bins as brown matter
Paper packing slip is getting shredded and added to compost
Plastic satchels are being turned inside out and used to send out gift parcels to relatives
Plastic satchels are being used as bin liners
Plastic satchels are being used as stuffing for fragile items being stored.

Responses from customers (there was many more than this so I apologise for not including them all)

What you do to pack things makes perfect sense to me. Please keep doing it. The special packaging for gifts is a wonderful idea. Please keep doing that as well.

Cheers

Bronwyn Meharry

Good idea for re-using packaging. Its all about getting the products to buyers in one piece and reducing waste. We can all do our bit. I do the same when possible too.

Cheers Dianne

Hi Brian & the Team

Just wanted to congratulate you on your process of recycling.

WELL DONE !! KEEP IT UP !!

I know that it takes a lot of time & extra effort to do what you are doing.

Thank you.

Jenny

Seems to me you're doing an excellent job there Brian re reusing packaging. Personally I couldn't care less what the packaging looks like as long as my items arrive safely

Love your work! ..... and your gardening stuff!!

Regards to all,

Anne

Good on you for your innovative packing ideas!

Every little step to help the environment is worthwhile!

Who cares what the packing looks like when all is safe inside!!

I wish that companies wouldn't use the huge quantities of glad wrap that they do though!!

Why can't they use the biodegradable stuff?!

Even if it's more expensive it's worth it!

I'm glad Aussie Gardener is giving it all a second life at least!

Thankyou very much!!

Kathryn Banicek (Michael's wife)

Great job. I agree that we all should do our little bit to help the environment.

I don’t care if my goods come in second hand boxes or if you have used the shredded cardboard or plastic as a filler.

It saves money and the environment.

Any bubble wrap I receive I reuse and wrap around the Geo pots to protect the seedlings/plant from wind and frost.

I put a couple of stakes in the pot then wrap the bubble wrap or plastic around the stakes and this keeps the veggies safe from the wind and frost.

So as you can see if we all do our little bit it all helps.

Cheers,

Danni Horton

Just read your email below re packaging and I can honestly say that every single company on the planet should be doing the same.

I don’t care what the box looks like – it goes in the bin – all that matters is the product I purchased is packaged to protect it.

So good on you for showing us the way forward with a sustainable use of the old for the new.

Keep up the good work.

Kind regards

Lisa Cooper

James Mills

10:03 (1 hour ago)

to me

Can’t say I’ve ever ordered anything from you fragile enough to warrant the plastic filler Brian, but personally I love the paper and scraps of cardboard your deliveries arrive in. Unlike plastics/foam/that weird material that’s somewhere in-between which no recycling station in the world wants anything to do with, the paper and cardboard you send I can throw in the shredder and put it straight in the worm bin for some much needed extra carbon

Keep up the great work Team!

James

Congratulations on taking the time and effort to reuse and to explain to us. Its a travesty other businesses don’t have have your authenticity on sustainability. Keep up the good work. I am sure it would be much easier and quicker to use new packing product.

Love your products - my garden and tool shed is full of them

Sue

Hi Brian,

I’m all for saving the environment! I also don’t mind if my purchase is wrapped in “ugly” wrapping as long as it arrives undamaged. So keep up the good work.

Kind regards

Jan Hutchinson

Hi Brian,

Thanks for this information. I thoroughly approve of your thoughtful and responsible packaging strategies. They make perfect sense as once the plastic has been manufactured the only way to mitigate the harm it causes is to re-use it as many times as possible before it enters landfill.

Congratulations on re-using the cardboard, too, and thus saving the trees!

Thumbs up from me!

Judith

Keep doing what you are doing. Eventually that plastic will end up in landfill but you are recycling as much as you can. It is keeping the products protected from damage and although it may not be aesthetically pleasing to some it is better for the environment in the long run.

Maybe put a sticker on the box in the vein of "our packaging is using our warehouse waste which would otherwise be going directly to landfill".

Have a good one

Cheers Patti

Hi Brian,

I think this is fantastic. The packaging already exists when in reaches you so may as well be reused!

I wonder if you could add a note about reusing packaging in your despatch email so that people are expecting that they may receive reused materials and aren’t suprise when it arrives? Seeing the picture of the wrapped pallet could help too

Keep up the good work!

Bravo! I absolutely applaud your reuse of materials!

The only problem is that we customers often have no way of recycling soft plastics either. It would be awesome if you could use cardboard or anything else compostable as filler.

Anyway, well done for valuing the environment, reusing where you can, and for communicating your reasoning and aims. I will remain a loyal customer as long as you keep this up! Well done!

Cheers

Dean

Blessed morning team

I am all for recycling, not only does it keep the products out of landfill for a while longer it slows down the new stuff coming into production.

You get my approval for doing the right thing over good looks

Love your ethos

Helen Castle

Well done on reusing as much packaging as possible! I wish more business’ would do the same.

Keep on doing what you’re doing!

FYI………….excellent subject heading, definitely got my attention!

Cheers,

Helen.

Hi Brian and Kaylene. I think it's really great that you are recycling and reusing packaging, especially soft plastics. I despair at how much waste goes to landfill simply because there is nowhere else to send it, and council recycling services are so limited. Keep up the good work. Kind regards, Kerrie King.

Well done to the Aussie Gardener crew, my friends & family used to make fun of me for having the same approach to recycling boxes & bubble wrap, but guess who they come to when they need a box!

I know that it is a big commitment for a company to embark on a recycling program of this size & that it is not without the cost of the extra labour involved so, again, congratulations on making this commitment.

Kind regards & good luck.

Eric Henry.

Hello Brian. This is actually a great email and an initiative I think is very effective for recycling, reusing and also saving costs for your business. I don't often respond to marketing emails but I want to say THANKYOU for informing customers about your packaging!!!

I know we eat with our eyes as well as our mouth. Much the same for receiving a gift or delivery, I guess.. If it looks sad or different to what we are expecting, it can deflate and taint the overall experience of your company/order

To avoid disappointment or confusion from customers when they receive their parcel, you could put a note on their confirmation email letting them know their parcel may be received in recycled boxes or packaging.

I personally get excited when companies recycle and not fluff about with packaging and labels. It elevates my experience of shopping with them. Good work!

Kinds regards,

Rebeccah Leeden

Hi Brain,

I think re using your warehouse boxes and plastic wrap is a brilliant idea!

If customers are a little upset receiving these “ugly” packages maybe they just need a pre warning~ let them know on your website or even at the checkout that their goods will arrive safely in a repurposed box with repurposed warehouse plastic wrap.

Or add an option at the checkout where they can choose between receiving their goods in recycled packaging or a gift box ~ if it’s being sent straight to someone else as a gift?

It didn’t bother me receiving our dream hose in a repurposed box- the contents inside were perfect!

Kind Regards,

Nat

Not everyone agreed though. (We appreciate the feedback even if it shares a different point of view.)

Sorry to say Brian , I feel you too are giving lip service to the environment under the guise of ‘re use’.

Great job on the initiative’s you have discussed I am happy to see re use, however its obviously your red bins are not full of the plastic wrap… not for any environmental reasons but because you are sending the rubbish out to your customers, whom would do what you didn’t … red bin it. So off to landfills in their backyard instead and NO reduction in waste.

May make you look good in the short term but are you really decreasing the plastic landfill problem.?

As stated basically helping your bottom line by not buying fillers and making it appear environmentally responsible.

Perhaps a better strategy would be to request your pallets be wrapped with something more in line with the environment… look back in the past when our pallets were not delivered with plastic wrap but had cardboard wrap. A better idea for the environment and a safe re use ( great for garden beds and it breaks down).

Then and only then can you say you are helping decrease the landfill.

Re-use of non-recycle product is just ‘re distributing the problem else where.

As for the ‘gift box’ nice & reusable.

Regards

Jen Foster.

You asked for feedback about your packaging strategies.

Are you passing your landfill problem (and costs) to your customers and is there a better way?

Whilst you might feel like you are recycling pallet wrapping plastic, it is only a second use and you are then passing the problem on to your customers. True, better than just dumping it, but why not advocate for the use of less plastic in the first place.

Do pallets need to be wrapped in plastic or at least in essentially a single or at best, a double-use item? How was it done in the past? (response: cardboard wrap and metal strapping which is under tension and carries its own risks with handling)

Could you help to drive better practice up the supply chain? Are there organic/plant-based and compostable wraps that might be used instead?

I don’t mind you re-using cardboard boxes, but there are other options. There are national companies that have made a serious business (and fortune) out of recycling cardboard. They should be able to take what you generate and this truly is recycling because it is turned into new cardboard and other products. Shredded cardboard and paper can also be used by home gardeners as part of the composting cycle. Corn starch loose packaging pellets are also very compostable. You might make more of a virtue of providing something useful to your target customers rather than dumping plastic on them.

The solution to plastic is to use less of it.

Thanks for the opportunity to engage in the conversation.

Best wishes,

Lindsay Dent.

What is your take on our approach? Leave a comment below