Paper packaging is two or three times more expensive than bubble wrap, and its use extends the time required for packaging. (image: AmorePacific Corp.)
SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Nowadays, products purchased online are typically delivered in a big box with bubble wrap for protection. But once the package is safely delivered, the packaging becomes nothing more than waste.
AmorePacific Corp., however, has chosen to make use of paper packaging materials instead of bubble wrap.
What seems like a small and insignificant change is the result of hard work, with an eye to the environment.
The company’s new paper packaging, which was piled up among workers and automatic packaging devices at a logistics center in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, consists of eco-friendly shock-absorbing packing material called ‘geami’ and ‘papillon’.
When the product is wrapped with geami and the remaining space is stuffed with papillon, it can withstand most external shocks.
It took months of research and testing before such materials were put into use. Furthermore, paper packaging is two or three times more expensive than bubble wrap, and its use extends the time required for packaging.
Despite all of the disadvantages of the new materials, paper packaging was chosen as its value to the environment cannot be calculated and converted into money.
Amore Pacific needed a pre-emptive response as the problem of over-packing and using plastic is becoming a serious social problem, and as the number of consumers considering the environment increased.
The remaining problem was how consumers would react to such change. As expected, some customers complained that they were sent garbage.
Soon enough, however, the mood had turned around with positive comments regarding the new packaging surfacing online.
AmorePacific continues to change to contribute to the environment. It no longer uses vinyl tape on its packages, replacing it instead with paper tape.
The company stopped using color-coated boxes, and also uses smaller and slimmer boxes when possible. Product containers also went through major changes to become more eco-friendly.
It was a difficult process as many consumers buy cosmetics because of the packaging.
Since aesthetic standards cannot be ignored, AmorePacific changed the design of containers to reduce the amount of plastic used, made transparent containers for easy recycling, and used paper to make dual structure containers.
In addition, in 2018, AmorePacific used paper that was certified with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is given to paper produced in a sustainable way, on boxes for 500 different products.
Although the Packaging Materials Research Team at AmorePacific is having difficulty developing new designs, they are continuously developing cosmetics containers that maximize aesthetic effects and at the same time reflect eco-friendly elements without affecting product preservation.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
