A closer look at corrugated box packaging: And why it is the future of a circular economy
A closer look at corrugated box packaging: And why it is the future of a circular economy
Why corrugated boxes fit perfectly into the narrative of a circular economy
The American Forest & Paper Association had some encouraging news to report last year; a colossal 91.4% of old corrugated containers (OCCs) were recycled in the U.S. in 2021. Also, corrugated packaging ranks among the most recyclable options elsewhere in the world. This makes it a natural choice to pursue a circular economy, where resources are used, reused, and recycled in a closed loop — thus preserving natural resources and minimizing waste and pollution.
But even beyond their recyclability alone, corrugated boxes are the ultimate expression of a circular economy because they are sustainable across the product life cycle, from manufacture to recycling. Here’s how.
Manufacture and production
Life cycle assessment reports reveal that corrugated box manufacturers in the U.S. have been increasingly switching to renewable energy sources and simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Elsewhere in the world, too, corrugated box production is highly sustainable, and with good manufacturing practices we can get good strength with higher percentage of recycled content.
Even in the regions that rely on fossil fuels for box manufacture, it can be relatively easy to make the transition to green energy sources that are also highly sustainable. This makes corrugated packaging a distinct example of circularity at the production stage.
Supply chain sustainability
Throughout its product life cycle, corrugated packaging is an integral part of the supply chain in various industries across the globe. From food and beverages, e-commerce, and office supplies to more sensitive products like electronics and healthcare equipment, corrugated boxes are perfectly suited to house many goods.
Sustainability is one of the key reasons driving the popularity of this packaging material. This, coupled with other valuable characteristics like rigidity, customizability, and scalability, only strengthens the case for circularity in corrugated packaging.
Reuse and recycling
Among the most recycled materials on the planet, corrugated boxes remain sustainable even toward the end of their usable life cycle. However, this is an area that requires a fair bit of streamlining, mainly when the boxes are used in last-mile delivery.
Since many end users are unaware of the high recyclability quotient of corrugated boxes, the cartons are often misdirected to landfills and other wastelands, pulling down the overall percentage of packages that can be put back into circulation. Awareness programs and conscientiousness among end users can reverse this situation and further improve the impressive role of corrugated boxes in a circular economy.
Want to give your business an advantage in the race to circularity?
Making the switch to corrugated box packaging or other recyclable packaging wherever possible could be a great place to begin. Moglix can be your ally in this challenging yet crucial transformation to sustainable solutions. Our end-to-end packaging procurement solutions can make the journey to circularity easier and quicker for you. Visit our website to learn more.
The Top 8 Industries that Use Corrugated Box Packaging
The Top 8 Industries that Use Corrugated Box Packaging
Corrugated materials are among the most popular kings of box packaging used worldwide. Leading market researcher IMARC group pegged the size of the corrugated box market at $198 billion last year and expects the market to nearly hit the $230 billion mark by 2028.
A significant portion of this tremendous growth can be traced back to certain select industries that rely significantly on corrugated box packaging. Here are eight such market segments.
Food and beverages
Corrugated boxes are particularly suitable for packaging and storing food products because they offer a unique advantage — resistance to bacterial infections. Since they keep the food items fresh, germ-free, and safe, these cartons are widely used in the F&B sector.
E-commerce
Corrugated packaging is easily the backbone of the e-commerce industry owing to its various benefits, like easy customization. Cartons come in different sizes to suit a wide range of products in the e-commerce supply chain and can be personalized to reflect brand values.
Office supply and stationery
The office supplies market worldwide is expected to increase at a CAGR of 1.9%, from USD 130.5 billion in 2021 to USD 149.4 billion by 2028. Corrugated packaging is integral to this booming industry for reasons ranging from scalability to availability and longevity.
Textiles
Packaging for textiles and apparel needs to be attractive, fuss-free, and indicative of the brand’s unique signature. Corrugated packaging helps check all these boxes, making it one of the preferred solutions in the textile industry’s supply chain across the world.
Luxury goods
Corrugated packaging is the only rigid medium that can be cut and folded into infinite shapes and sizes. This unique blend of customizability coupled with strength has made it a trendy packaging solution in the luxury goods market.
Healthcare
Whether it involves transporting medicines and pills or sensitive and delicate medical equipment, corrugated box packaging can be ideal for many reasons. It is rigid, hygienic, and easy to manufacture in different shapes to pack equipment of different sizes snugly.
Electronics
Although it’s easy to overlook, electronic products can be extremely fragile. Therefore, nothing but the sturdiest and safest packaging will do when they are shipped over long distances and across borders. The electronics industry, it appears, has found its solution in corrugated packaging.
Hazardous materials
Corrugated packaging can also be made water-resistant and highly tolerant to temperature changes. These attributes are why it is a preferred packaging material for transporting hazardous materials, batteries, etc.
Need corrugated box packaging? The right packaging solutions can make procurement a breeze.
Most corrugated box packaging is 100% recyclable, making them an excellent choice if your business is keen on increasing its sustainability quotient. Moglix can make it easy to procure the best-corrugated packaging for your primary, secondary and tertiary packaging needs. Visit our website to learn more.
Engineering a circular future with sustainable packaging
Engineering a circular future with sustainable packaging
India generates 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, as per data available from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change1. Moreover, India’s per capita generation of plastic waste has nearly doubled in the last five years. Besides adversely affecting the ecosystems, plastic pollution is linked to air pollution.
Against this backdrop, sustainable packaging could play a major role in curbing India’s carbon footprint as plastics comprise one-third of the carbon emissions in core manufacturing segments such as mining, metals and construction materials. The next highest contributors in this regard are energy, agriculture and related activities, logistics and HVAC, followed by other verticals.
Issues and Implications of Sustainable Practices
To mitigate the ravages of global warming, corporates across countries and continents are shifting to sustainable business practices that support a circular economy and advance efforts to curb climate change.
Moglix helping companies solve their enterprise packaging challenges
Moglix helping companies solve their enterprise packaging challenges
The packaging vertical of Moglix claims to meet the needs of around 70 percent of e-commerce orders in the country. Shobhit Goel in discussion with Paper Mart shares insights on how Moglix is helping companies gain visibility with aesthetically crafted packaging Solutions
PM: Please shed some light on Moglix and the key accomplishments of the company so far?
SG: The digital supply chain ecosystem of Moglix brings together 7 lakh+ SKUs of indirect procurement, packaging, infrastructure construction materials, made-to-order manufacturing, and supply chain cloud SaaS products to create the largest catalog for B2B commerce in India.
“Moglix Solutions has been able to transform MRO procurement and packaging for global enterprises using a state-of-the-art unified procurement platform. At present, we are working with over 600 large-scale enterprises.”
PM: Please tell us about the product range on the platform.
SG: As I mentioned earlier, we have several verticals, such as MRO, infra solutions, manufacturing as a service, fashion and packaging. With respect to Packaging solutions, we at Moglix, collaborate with businesses to map their packaging challenges and deliver relevant solutions in the primary, secondary and tertiary packaging. We currently serve all three types of packaging.
PM: What are the future plans of the company?
SG: This is just the beginning! We believe that paper is a strong segment and will continue to focus on that aspect.
“There is a scope for improvement in R&D, and assessing the ways to make paper packaging even more sustainable and reduce the carbon footprint of the paper mills.”
Moglix Packaging Solutions Exhibited at Paperex 2022
Moglix Packaging Solutions Exhibited at Paperex 2022
At Paperex 2022, Moglix reinforced its vision and mission as the country’s largest integrated packaging solutions provider. Moglix Packaging was showcased with various products, such as paper bags, paper tubs, bagasse trays, corrugated boxes, compostable bags, paper tapes POSS, shredded papers, paper cups, along with raw materials demonstrating a range of specialty papers for converters.
Moglix is also a manufacturer of packaging products and raw materials (Paper, Poly and Aluminum roll), exhibiting full-stack paper-based offerings from raw materials to finished goods.
Moglix fulfills more than 70% of the e-commerce industry’s packaging demands, including inventory management that stretches across 35 warehouses in pan India. It provides an end-to-end supply chain of paper products through strategic tie-ups with different mills, converters and JIT fulfilment by leveraging its pan-India distribution network.
Paperex 2022 is one of the largest Paper exhibitions in the country. The event was accompanied by research and development professionals from academic institutions, product users, customers from the printing and publishing industry, decision-makers from well-known industries, sourcing personnel, paper technologists, promoters, and many more. The exhibition showcased Moglix capabilities on a national and global scale.
Through this platform, we established long term relationships with various stakeholders in the paper industry, and contributed towards creating a sustainable and stronger supply chain across the manufacturing value chain.
