Plastic pollution harms the European nature as well



We often think that only the Third World's nature and waters are affected by plastic pollution, but we have huge and growing problems with plastic here in Europe as well, and they are a terrible burden to our nature and waters. Europe is the second largest plastic producer, right after China, producing 60 million tons of plastic a year. Out of this plastic, 27 tons becomes waste, and out of that only a third is recycled. The demand for recycled plastic covers only 6 % of the overall demand for plastic in Europe. Plastic is 90 % fossil fuels, and they also contain such substances as the following: pigments, fire-resistants, antioxidants and antistatic agents. All of these are poison for the nature. If and when plastic is not recycled right, at its worst, it pollutes and destroys the nature and continues to do so for hundreds of years. The fish and other animals in the water and above it alike are being choked and poisoned to death by plastic bags. It is actually estimated that the weight of plastic waste exceeds the weight of fish in the oceans by 2050!
 

Customers demand more and more responsibility from webshops nowadays, and 72 % of customers in traditional stores as well as webshops are willing to pay more for an item if they know it is produced ecologically and will not be a burden on the nature. Shipping packages have a huge role here, and they also give the first impression of the webshop and its products. Still, numerous webshops use plastic bags for shipping, which creates a negative customer experience. It is also important to note just how much of an environmental burden the package really is, both in the packaging and shipping process. The material of the package does not solve all of the problems in the entire transport chain; the package needs to give enough protection while saving space and thus helping the nature. According to studies, as much as half of webshop customers are concerned about 'over-packaging,' which means that packages take more space in the shipment than they need. Difficult recycling without enough space is a negative experience for the receiver as well, which is why it is important to consider what happens to the package after its use.

The products made and sold by Pussikeskus are environmentally friendly and responsibly made. Our ingredients come from responsible and trustworthy sources only, and most of our products are FSC or PFCS certified, confirming resposibility. Paper and cardboard are natural ingredients, recycleable and biodegradable. All postal bags, cardboard envelopes and other products that we manufacture ourselves are made of Finnish ingredients only. All adhesives and pigments used in printing are non-toxic, and our shipping packages with or without printing can be reused as composting bags, for example. Paper bags are easy to fold in a smaller space than a cardboard box, and they can also be recycled.


In addition to responsible materials, the packages of Pussikeskus enable effective and ecological packaging and shipping process. Over-packaging is a big burden to the nature, because a product may placed in a cardboard box and thus given three times the space it actually needs at worst - even though the product might not even need all that protection. Often a compact paperbag that shapes to the product would be much better. Problematic packaging is expensive and pollutes and weighs on the nature with the unneeded transportation equipment, for example. Shipping packages save space, money and the nature from more trouble in shipping, packaging and logistics, because they need half the space that cardboard boxes do. 

Contact us: myynti@pussikeskus.fi or 09 350 5060 or here