Why Sustainability is So Important for an Emerging Business

At New Zealand Candle Supplies we only use certain materials we know can be properly broken down. The reason for this? Because we know that plastic recycling is a lie. Over 91% of plastic is never recycled. 

We know that the packaging industry produces more plastic and plastic waste, than any other sector, and we know that plastic plastics pose a threat to human health. 

That’s why we encourage our budding candle business customers and even our own supply chain to only use sustainable materials across their process. 

And this is something that will become increasingly important to you as a budding start up. 

A change heralded by the consumer 

Did you know that 63% of consumers associate plastic with ocean pollution? Plastic and its ramifications are tied very closely with the business that uses them, so nowadays it's wise to look at your supply chain and its wider impact. 

When starting your emerging candle business the first step is to look at your target market and consumer trends. Luckily, one consumer trend is of practical importance here; the growing need for sustainable practices. 

The growing importance of sustainable practices doesn't just fall to the customer, 77% of consumers say that it's a brands responsibility to make sure their packaging gets recycled. 

On top of that, nearly six out of ten say brands should be penalised for producing packaging that harms the environment. 

When looking at your consumers, the younger they are the more likely they are to care about your environmental care. In fact 83% of younger consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging. 

We know that more and more brands are letting go of plastic, but for budding businesses now is the perfect time to put sustainability at the core of what you do. 

It's the best time in history to design for consumers because sustainability brings about such a huge opportunity to create challenger brands, and to change the face of packaging for the better. 

Sustainability Trends to Note for 2023 

During Advertising Week New York which happened mid October of this year, Andrew Gibbs Founder and CEO of Dieline, a global package design community, shared their three upcoming trends for sustainability that emerging brands need to be aware of. 

One of the trends, which is important to note for emerging brands, is clean business practices from the beginning. More and more brands are figuring out that if you want your brand to be sustainable, you have to start at the start. 

Luckily for you, smarter start ups are figuring out you need to design around sustainability first at the beginning to save time and money. If you're in the process of launching a new product, start sustainable because it is not easy to go backwards. 

When you think about sustainable practices and implementing them into your business, you need to look at everything from the products you use to the distribution channels you implement. Although these can create restrictions, once you embrace your constraints the sky's the limit. 

Starting the new movement 

As an emerging business sustainability is always going to be of the utmost importance to your business directives. Consumers, partners and retailers are starting to look for those leading the charge. 

For budding candle makers across the industry, from the containers, labels and boxes you use, you will find yourself with a responsibility for the plastic waste you create. So it’s probably easier not to create any. 

As a proud New Zealand founded company, we’re committed to lowering the environmental impact of our business. As we support small business owners, side hustlers and hobby enthusiasts, we aim to supply only the best quality products attuned with mother nature. 

We know it’s of growing importance to our customer base to do what we can to protect our planet, so from the very beginning sustainability has been at the core of our business.

At New Zealand Candle Supplies we are committed to widening the environment conversation through several ways, including; 

• Buying only unsold and unused catalogues, newspapers and magazines to package our products.
• Only using fully biodegradable packaging materials.
• Choosing to opt away from using plastic packaging of any sort.
• Repurposing our own cardboard waste into other forms of sustainable packaging.
• Only supplying bottles, labels and supplies that are fully recyclable to minimise the negative effects of packaging on our environment. 

As we try to lower our impact on the environment we encourage our customers to do the same. 

Together we can contribute to the changing tides against plastic pollution.