It’s the end of July 2019 and the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, has just released an announcement, stating that it is to invest £60m in a project to develop new eco-friendly packaging solutions. With businesses adding up to £149m to help bring in to use, alternatives made from food waste, plants and wood chippings.

View this post on Instagram

At MYGA Yoga we strive to make sure that all of our products and packaging are safe and non-damaging to the environment! We make sure that everything that leaves our warehouse has been recycled and contains no plastic! By creating our own protective packaging with recycled cardboard, therefore creating less waste and using our old boxes it means that we have no need for bubble wrap or other plastic packaging! Remember, Every little helps! Whether it be using a reusable water bottle to completely changing your lifestyle we can all work together to save the planet! #yoga #birminghamyoga #yogainbirmingham #yogateachertraining #yogaretreat #yogainspiration #yogaeveryday #yogisofinstagram #yogagirl #yogini #yogi #yogainthecity #fitness #yogaposes #yogaforeverybody #yogaclasses #yogafamily #yogaforbeginners #yogalover #meditation #yogacommunity #childrenyoga #yogapractice #yogalifestyle #mygayoga #ecofriendly #recycle #planetsafe

A post shared by MYGA YOGA | Yoga Products (@myga_yoga) on Jul 8, 2019 at 1:28am PDT

But what about Myga’s strategy of eco-friendly packaging?  It came from a conscious decision that Myga, as a company wanted to cut it’s impact on the environment and still offer products that were customer friendly and friendly on the pocket.  However Myga does offer alternatives, with higher end cork or rubber yoga mats available and whilst Myga would be the first to admit that they are not perfect, they are trying and are improving daily where and when possible.

According to a recent study, this strategy makes business sense; a Green Buying Report conducted by Exal Corp shows, that not all that we may think, is actually true.

According to recent surveys, its suggests that mainly the young that are interested in eco products and saving the planet. In the study over 50% of over 50’s say “sustainability of packaging is a factor in their product selection decision”.

55% of all respondents said that price over sustainability, was not the deciding factor in product purchasing and in fact, would be happy to pay on average 5% more for a sustainable product.  With 57% saying that they would not buy a product if they considered it damaging to the environment.

The last factor that came out, was that plastic is the enemy, with only 15% of all recyclable plastic actually being recycled and that even recyclable plastic has a limited life in the number of times, that it can be reincarnated.  Customers understand this and are looking for biodegradable, recyclable or reusable options.

The main factors to take away from this are, that nearly half of consumers today, are actively seeking information on the sustainability of products they buy and use; consumers care and are willing to pay for greener packaging. At the same time, there is a need for those of us in the industry, to transparently address eco-friendly trends, with product sustainability information on packaging, and to provide packaging options that meet consumer demands, for sustainable and recyclable items.