More than 50% of all plastic thrown out is packaging. Single-use plastic has become a scourge on our planet in the past 60 years. It’s cheap to make and widely considered to be hygienic and time-saving. Unfortunately, one of the qualities that makes it valuable also makes it extremely detrimental to the health of the planet: its durability. Plastic is estimated to last anywhere from 450 years to forever. Nearly every piece of plastic ever made is still with us and every piece we manufacture adds to the problem. Creating it involves fossil fuels, which aren’t so great for our atmosphere. When plastics slowly photodegrade in landfills, rivers, and the ocean they leach chemicals into the soil and water, harming the health of our entire ecosystem.
A short educational insert we included with the Pakt One.
SeaHive and Pakt founder, Malcolm Fontier, didn’t want to contribute to the creation of more plastic packaging, 32% of which ends up in the ocean. “Even as an environmentally-minded product company, it's easy to focus on your product and overlook the packaging. We wanted to show that going plastic-free and removing much of the environmental risk from your packaging isn't difficult and something any company can do.” says Fontier.
There is no such thing as a sustainably produced product but there’s a spectrum of environmental responsibility. Companies need to decide where on that spectrum they want to exist. The goal of Pakt is to have the lowest possible impact on the planet while making products that last a lifetime and don’t end up in a landfill--a goal your own company may share. SeaHive was able to help reduce Pakt’s impact from a packaging and shipping standpoint and we hope these guides pique your interest to reduce or eliminate plastic from your company’s packaging. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter because next in our series we’ll dive into packaging design.