Brands take action on packaging as Black Friday looms

Three billion trees cut down every year for paper packaging

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 24, 2020, Vancouver – Three days before Black Friday – the globe’s second largest shopping day - 22 brands including beauty brands Lush Cosmetics (North America), Beauty Kitchen and LOLI, fashion brands Stitch Fix, The Very Group, and Saloni, and printers Hemlock and DCC, and innovator Re-Leaf, have joined Pack4Good to tackle the extensive impact paper packaging is having on the world’s forests, biodiversity, and climate. Three billion trees are currently cut down every year to make paper packaging. As online sales continue to surge, we must ensure that measures are taken to reduce the reliance of packaging on forests.

With today’s announcement, 126 brands – ranging from today’s additions to previous partners like H&M, BESTSELLER, Stella McCartney, Ted Baker, Aritzia, Tensei, and Mara Hoffman – are now working with environmental non-profit Canopy to develop holistic, innovative packaging solutions through the Pack4Good initiative to reduce waste and keep forests standing. The pre-Black Friday boost to the campaign comes at a pivotal time as experts expect online sales to increase 25% to 35% over this holiday season.

“There’s no longer any need to use the last of the world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests to ship and wrap everyday products,” stated Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director of Canopy. “In this turn around decade for our planet, the companies that are joining Pack4Good are demonstrating the leadership that must be taken to tackle paper packaging, and scale up low-impact alternatives. What better time to strengthen this movement than on the eve of one of the world’s busiest shopping days.”

Last year Black Friday sales saw over 93.2 million people shopping online, which resulted in a whopping $7.4 billion in sales – an all-time record. This year those numbers could be even bigger. The additional packaging needed to meet this demand would intensify impacts on the world’s climate-rich forest ecosystems, as e-commerce shopping requires, on average, seven times more packaging.

“We are thrilled to be early leaders in the beauty sector by making a commitment through the Pack4Good initiative,” said Jo Chidley, Founder of Beauty Kitchen. “Like Canopy, our goal is to help create a future where precious resources, like forests, don’t end up as packaging for personal care products, and to prove that there can be a widespread democratising of the circular economy.”

Pack4Good partners included in today’s announcement are committed to ensuring that by the end of 2022 all their packaging is:

• Free of Ancient and Endangered Forests.
• Designed to reduce material use.
• Maximizing recycled and alternative Next Generation fibres (such as agricultural residues).
• Using FSC-certified wood when virgin forest fibre continues to be used.

Canopy launched the Pack4Good initiative in October 2019, and it now includes 126 brands. Pack4Good partners include fashion brands, personal care brands, printers and telecommunication companies as well as Next Generation Solutions providers, with more sectors and companies expressing interest every day.

For more information contact:

Laura Repas, Canopy
+1 416-729-7484 About Canopy Canopy is a solutions-driven not-for-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting forests, species and climate. We're committed to working together to guide businesses to better, more sustainable practices. www.canopyplanet.org Read about the new Pack4Good companies here . https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/press-releases/a-tale-of-two-holiday-seasons-as-a-k-shaped-recovery-model-emerges-consumer-spending-heavily-bifurcated.html