Leading South Korean technology giant has announced that it is following in the footsteps of governments and organizations the world over in implementing sustainable packaging practices for its products in order to reduce plastic consumption and waste.
The company has announced that 2019 will see it begin to switch to more environmentally-friendly packaging formats across its portfolio.
According to the United Nations, a staggering 8 million tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year. Even more shocking is that since the 1950s, over 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced – and just 1% of that figure comes from renewable, non-fossil fuel-based resources. Samsung’s move is aimed at helping mitigate the crisis.
From the first half of 2019, the packaging used currently for Samsung’s products and accessories – ranging from mobile phones and tablets to home appliances – will be substituted with environmentally sustainable materials like recycled/bio-based plastics and paper.
To revamp product packaging, Samsung Electronics has formed a task force involving design and development, purchasing, marketing and quality control for innovative packaging ideas.
For mobile phone, tablet and wearable products, Samsung will replace the plastic used for holder trays with pulp molds, and bags wrapping accessories with eco-friendly materials. Samsung will also alter the phone charger design, swapping the glossy exterior with a matte finish and eliminating plastic protection films, reducing the use of plastics.
The plastic bags used to protect the surface of home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines as well as other kitchen appliances will also be replaced with bags containing recycled materials and bioplastics, which are respectively made from plastic wastes and non-fossil fuel materials like starch or sugar cane.
Regarding paper, Samsung will only use fiber materials certified by global environmental organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative for packaging and manuals by 2020.
“Samsung Electronics is stepping up in addressing society’s environmental issues such as resource depletion and plastic wastes,” said Gyeong-bin Jeon, head of Samsung’s Global Customer Satisfaction Center. “We are committed to recycling resources and minimizing pollution coming from our products. We will adopt more environmentally sustainable materials even if it means an increase in cost.”
Under the company’s circular economy policy, Samsung Electronics has set a mid-term implementation plan to only use paper packaging materials certified by forestry initiatives by next year. By 2030, Samsung aims to use 500 thousand tons of recycled plastics and collect 7.5 million tons of discarded products (both cumulative from 2009).
