Samsung Electronics has announced that it will begin replacing the plastic materials in its packaging with paper and other environmentally sustainable materials.
Starting in the first half of the year, the materials currently used to package Samsung products and their accessories – smartphones, tablets, or home appliances – will be replaced by recycled materials, bioplastics, and paper.
In order to modernize its packaging, Samsung Electronics has formed a working group that will cover tasks such as design and development, purchasing, marketing, and quality control of the proposals.
For mobile phones, tablets, and wearables, Samsung will replace the plastic used in cases with cellulose molds and the bags that wrap the accessories with eco-friendly materials. The tech company will also modify the design of its chargers to a matte finish, thus eliminating plastic protective films and reducing their use.
Regarding paper, Samsung uses only fiber materials certified by environmental organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative for packaging and manuals by 2020. “ Samsung Electronics is taking an important step in adopting measures to address society's environmental problems, such as resource depletion and plastic waste ,” says Gyeong-bin Jeon, director of Samsung's Global Customer Satisfaction Center. “ We are committed to recycling resources and minimizing pollution from our products; we will adopt more environmentally sustainable materials, even if it means increased costs .”
Samsung Electronics has established a medium-term implementation plan to use only packaging materials that have been certified by forestry initiatives by next year. By 2030, it aims to use 500 tons of recycled plastics and collect 7,5 million tons of discarded products (both accumulated since 2009).
