Each year, eight million tons of plastic end up in the oceans, killing one million marine birds and threatening hundreds of marine life species. Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues and consumers are increasingly critical of the packaging of products that they buy.
Lighting brand Signify is actively striving for a reduction of the environmental impact of its products. As part of its packaging policy, Signify already uses 80% recycled paper for its packaging and will now start phasing out all plastics from packaging for consumer-related products with the aim to be plastic-free in 2021.
By phasing out plastic used for consumer product packaging, Signify will avoid the use of over 2,500 tonnes of plastics per year. On top of that, its new packaging is smaller, reducing carbon emissions from transport and the materials used by 6,000 tonnes per year – equivalent to the amount of CO2 that 270,000 fully grown trees can absorb in a year.
“Plastic waste has a very negative impact on our planet and its biodiversity and we decided that we must take a leading role and start using plastic-free alternatives. It is the right thing to do and meets the increasing expectations of our customers,” said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify. “I look forward to the moment that we can announce that we no longer use plastics in our packaging.”
Signify already started replacing the plastic blister packaging for its LED lamps with paper-based materials in the Pacific, where the switch was received very positively and resulted in an increase in sales.
“When we replaced our packaging in the Pacific region, customers said that it was more appealing and environmentally friendly,” Rondolat added. “I call upon other companies to join us in making the switch and will gladly share our lessons learned.”
