Leveraging the Sustainable Aspects of Your Packaging for Millennials

The world of commerce, particularly ecommerce, evolves so quickly that manufacturers can be forced into reactive strategies rather than proactive ones. Sometimes change is such a long process you risk it becoming outdated before you even completely master it.

On the other hand, you can leverage a lot of your strategies beyond their initial purposes to be more proactive. One example is the way you communicate your sustainable packaging practices to your target audience.

This is an upcoming topic that packaging authority and consultant Robert (Bob) Lilienfeld will share for free on Feb. 7 at WestPack 2018 in Anaheim, CA. His “Strategically Communicating Your Sustainability Story” presentation is one hour long. Here are some highlights to consider for yourself.

The long-term factor to cater to is the Millennial generation and younger. These are the folks who are already in, or quickly moving into, your target demographic. They don’t blindly trust legacy brands like the generations before them. They want to make a positive difference in the world, and something like sustainability is more important to them than price. They consider the overall cost of a product – which includes its impact on the environment and even humanity.  So whatever you’re doing to be green, whatever measures of sustainable packaging you practice, this should be part of the story you’re telling consumers about your brand.

How can you tell your story? Lilienfeld strongly warns against using blanket statements that don’t truly mean anything, like “green” or “earth friendly.” He recommends finding a way to make it a story. Here’s one example provided in Packaging Digest’s “Once upon a time: Why brands should tell their sustainability story” by Lisa McTigue Pierce:

“What is the best way for a brand to communicate its sustainability story and why?

Lilienfeld: By solving a problem that’s important or personally relevant to its target audience. And doing this in a credible, sincere manner. For example, people who eat tuna would naturally be concerned about the sustainability of the tuna population from two perspectives: sound harvesting/population management, and healthy oceans free of debris. Working with, and investing in, non-profits that specialize in these activities are therefore natural collaborations for the brand to list on-package.”

If you’re wondering how to tell your story, you may want to consider the things that Lilienfeld featured on his Use Less Stuff Report page “10 things I Bet You Didn’t Know About Packaging.”

Sustainability is a broad term, and many aspects of packaging can be considered sustainable or ecologically conscientious. If you want help understanding these qualities in industrial packaging, or options there within, contact Packnet: 952-944-9124; [email protected].