While unboxing a shiny new smartphone (or any gadget, for that matter) is surely an exciting experience, most users don’t really care about the packaging materials their electronic devices come in. Discarded casually, these cardboard boxes and plastic wraps cause a huge strain on the environment. Thankfully, many companies are realizing this and taking steps to conserve the planet and its ecosystem, with Samsung being the latest.
Samsung Electronics has announced that starting this year, it’ll replace plastic packaging materials with paper and other similar environmentally sustainable components. From the first half of 2019, the company will substitute packaging used for majority of its products and accessories (e.g. smartphones, tablets, and general home appliances) with environmentally sustainable materials such as recycled/bio-based plastics and paper. To come up with better packaging ideas, the company has formed a team comprised of personnel from different departments like design & development, purchase, marketing, and quality control.
For smaller products such as smartphones, tablets and wearables, Samsung will be replacing the plastic used in holder trays of these devices’ packaging with pulp molds. The bags used for wrapping accessories will also be made of eco-friendly materials. In fact, the company will even be changing the design of its phone chargers, changing the currently-used glossy exterior with a matte finish that’ll be less prone to scratches/smudges and thus, won’t need plastic protection films. As for paper, Samsung will only be using fiber materials that are certified by global environmental organizations such as Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme, and Sustainable Forestry Initiative, by 2020.
Watch: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 First Look
“Samsung Electronics is stepping up in addressing society’s environmental issues such as resource depletion and plastic wastes. 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,” commented Gyeong-bin Jeon, head of Samsung’s Global Customer Satisfaction Center.
