Do you consider yourself an environmentally-friendly person? What about with your purchases? How often do you go out of your way to purchase products that are environmentally-friendly or that use packaging that doesn?t harm the environment? It can be difficult to commit to purchasing products that are socially conscious, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later. If we all make the decision to work harder toward this goal, the world will be a better place.
Interested in learning more about how packaging affects the environment and the changes you can make in your purchases? Keep reading for information about plastic and why choosing made in USA clamshells and customizable packaging solutions/options can benefit the Earth.
How Plastic Harms the Earth Over Time
Believe it or not, plastic waste exists everywhere in the world. It is a constant issue across the nation, the continent, and the globe. When it comes to plastic waste that is not disposed of properly, there are more than 31.9 million metric tons currently polluting our planet. So, how exactly does this negatively affect the environment and the world that we live in?
One of the main reasons plastic can damage the environment is through the water. The world?s oceans are contaminated with so much plastic waste. As of 2016, there was around 150 million metric tons currently polluting oceans. If you think that?s bad, by 2050, some believe the plastic in the ocean will outnumber the fish in the ocean. Without action taken by everyone, the 2016 Ellen MacArthur Foundation reports this is the future we can expect for our oceans.
Plastic in the ocean isn?t just an issue because it simply takes up space. It actually causes real damage to the water. It can be life threatening to ecosystems living in the ocean. Marine life is significantly affected by plastic pollution, and it endangers their lives every single day. Every year, there is at least $13 billion in damage to the world?s ocean from plastic waste.
Every time you buy a product that isn?t packaged environmentally-friendly with made in USA clamshells, reusable clamshell, or other clamshell packaging, it has the potential to cause damage to the Earth. On average, when there is plastic waste from packaging, 40% ends up landfills. Another 32% leaks into the environment. This means that much waste starts to pollute by the land and the sea. If we instead switch to reusable options like reusable made in USA clamshells and reusable retail packaging, perhaps we could decrease this plastic waste over time.
How You Can Help Decrease Plastic Waste
One way that we can make a difference individually is by making sure we purchase products that make an effort to be environmentally-friendly. We may not be able to change companies and force them to use environmentally-friendly made in USA clamshells packaging, but we can decide to not buy it. As of now, about 50% of people do try to make decisions this way. They purchase a product if they know that the brand cares about the environment and making a difference.
However, we need the other half of the population to get on board with type of buying. It may take some extra effort and extra research on the part of consumers, but it could make all the difference in what happens to our land and oceans over time. Without some type of commitment on the part of the consumer, companies may never make the change internally. We need to prompt them to start using packaging materials that are safer for the environment and safer for us. Each and every product that uses the wrong type of packaging is another product that adds to the damage already done.
Do you do research about the products you buy before you purchase them to make sure they are environmentally-friendly? Do you plan to start living this way soon? Let us know in the comments about your experience trying to buy products from companies that care about the environment.
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