Not just another Earth Day
This year, even the DATE of Earth Day looks special: 4/22/2024. All divisible by two! All perfectly balanced and almost a palindrome. Within that spirit of analyzing things forward and backward, past and present, we further explored the history of Earth Day’s existence and found interesting facts.
While many individuals grew concerned over various environmental impacts of commercialization in the ‘60s, Senator Gaylord Nelson and Congressman Denis Hayes helped organize the first “teach-in”, focused on the environmental effects of pollution on April 22nd 1970.
Now, 50+ years later, the day is celebrated by over 1 billion people spanning across 141 countries, according to USA Today.
The theme of this year’s Earth Day celebration is Plant vs. Plastics and focuses on topics including microplastics, fast fashion and single-use items (more info found at earthday.org).
While many recommendations from earthday.org are practical, they focus on the actions individuals can take such as educating themselves on plastic pollution health risk, reducing or eliminating fast fashion and changing behaviors. What can businesses do?
That is a tricky question – businesses are often challenged with finding ways to invest in sustainable initiatives without adversely affecting their bottom line, so how can they remain profitable while investing in green initiatives?
Some of the tips for businesses mentioned by earthday.org include:
- Switching to post-consumer products
- Challenging other businesses to reduce emissions and understanding their own
- Making on-campus recycling easy and providing stations
- Sponsoring local student groups to conduct an environmental project
At Impak, we have engaged in several recommendations by earthday.org. Our company has committed to using more post-consumer recycled content by offering OceanPoly® poly mailers. The recycled content in this line is diverted from waterways, protecting our oceans. The use of mailers made from this material not only helps clean up our oceans and protect marine life, it also tells a unique story and is a great way for companies to show their support for these efforts. We also offer FSC certified products to ensure any paper items are ethically sourced and recycled content is within its core.
In 2023 we partnered with local educators at the University of Texas at Dallas to conduct a study on the emissions impact of US vs offshore manufacturing. We encourage any company interested in reducing their emissions to consider Impak for economical poly mailer packaging, rather than going overseas. They could save the emissions equivalent of 555 automobiles driven over AN ENTIRE YEAR by keeping manufacturing in the US. See the full study and emissions summary HERE.
While not EVERY packaging format can be made in the US, water-proof, flexible, durable poly mailers CAN. We’d be happy to share more information on how to make your mailers as sustainable as possible, including using recycled content OceanPoly® or RethinkPoly™ films, right-sizing your assortment, designing for re-use or returnability and educating consumers on the proper recycling method.
A balance is needed. We understand there is a place and a case for just about every type of packaging you can think of. Let’s do more of what makes sense. Recycled content – YES. Recyclable – YES. Reusable – YES. This Earth Day, think about what is beneficial for your business and beneficial for the planet. Making a step in the right direction is easier than you think with Impak by your side.