Have you heard about green packaging? According to noissue, green packaging, also known as sustainable packaging or eco-friendly packaging, refers to packaging designs that have the lowest environmental impact possible. They achieve this by limiting the packaging waste created, maximizing sustainable materials (such as recyclable or biodegradable packaging elements), and the use of renewable energy during production. In short, sustainable packaging is all about being mindful of your business’s carbon footprint.

Why do we need green packaging? Because during the pandemic itself, we are actually using more plastic than ever. This is in line with the increase in online shopping transactions in the form of packages, which increased by 62 per cent. Meanwhile, online shopping in the form of fast food delivery services rose 47 percent.

So could you imagine if we keep on using plastic until the end of the pandemic? Yes, it could contribute more danger to the environment and people’s health. For example. water bottles — highest recycling value; keep out of the sun to prevent toxins from leaking into the container. 

But is it expensive? Generally, some eco-friendly items are not affordable for others. Yet, some Indonesian young entrepreneurs have to try to create green packaging that’s affordable for everyone. 

We talk to Papel, a green packaging based in Jakarta owned by two young ladies, Natasha Dian dan Michelle Febry. 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Papel Wrap (@papelpack.id)

Hi, could you please tell us more about Papel? 

We’re a packaging company, focusing on sustainable material and safety packaging made from paper. We aim for more sustainable solutions towards packaging.

As the founder or owner of green packaging, could you please tell us why the importance of green packaging? 

We started this because we need a solution to so many environmental issues that we’re facing right now. The greenhouse effect, the rise of sea levels, and the plastic waste problems in the entire universe. It all started and is a byproduct of our evolution, and lifestyle. One of them is consumerism, thus we buy things we don’t need and develop all things to be quicker; takeaways, fast fashion, online shopping.

And therefore, we made those huge piles of waste more than ever. Yet, we have to change, create more solutions to the lifestyle, and be more conscious of the problems and issues around us.

Could you please share why you decided to create Papel? Do you have an experience that pushed you to create Papel? 

Papel is a vision, that in the future everything should be better, more conscious and eco friendly. We could say that in Indonesia, the zero waste, the eco-conscious community is growing, but there’s still minimum access to the products, therefore we believe we could start to produce the green packaging locally.

What do you think about the green packaging industry in Indonesia? What’s the challenge to be in a green packaging industry? As we know, some eco-friendly items are not affordable to everyone. 

It is still a bit more pricey than conventional packaging. Because the higher the demand, the lower the cost. And that is the challenge to make it more affordable and accessible to all.

We really looking forward to the lifestyle to change, the government policy, business owner, and all the stakeholders to really put attention to these products and the environmental impact it would make.

Since Papel is a green packaging business and very concerned about the ecosystem, how do you create a cost-effective business that also has less carbon footprint? 

We make our product locally, sourced the material locally too. We are concerned a lot about the carbon footprints we make, so we try a lot of things to reduce the carbon footprints numbers; we send it to regions such as Yogya and Bali, to be closer to some regions.

If the wider packaging industry could be transformed in some way, what kind of change would you like to see?

I would like to see it could be connected in many ways; built-in circular economy systems; that is sustainable and impactful to a lot of more business and people.

Most of Papel’s items are very affordable, ranging Rp15,000 to Rp185,000. Let’s all start creating a sustainable environment for our beloved Earth.