Reducing our plastic footprint
MIXX Ltd is committed to protecting the environment and reducing the impact that plastic pollution is having on marine life and human health. Roughly 300 million tons of plastic is produced in the world each year, 50% of which is single use, with 8 million tons dumped into our oceans every year.* At current levels, 40% of Europe’s plastic production is packaging**, unnecessarily endangering marine life as well as contributing to human consumption of micro plastics.
As a growing technology company, with our retail customers requiring product packaging, we set ourselves the internal target to minimise the environmental impact of our own packaging, to source sustainable eco-friendly materials for production, and improve on our ecological footprint.
We have therefore embarked on a project to reduce the amount of plastic used in our packaging by 80% or more by the close of 2020.
We have already begun to achieve this by working with a supply chain whose environmental ethics are in line with our own; using recycled and recyclable materials in order to manufacture our products and our packaging.
MIXX Ltd promises to continue to research biodegradable materials to make our packaging more eco-friendly for a more sustainable future. We are equally committed to finding alternatives to reduce the use of plastic in our product design and components.
RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
A typical and standard example of our conventional packaging contains 90% recyclable card and 10% recyclable plastic.
Plastic windows on all MIXX packaging is made from Polyethylene (PET) which is recyclable
Plastic trays inside all MIXX packaging is made from Polystyrene (PS) which is recyclable
All euro hook hanging tabs are made from (Polypropylene) PP which is recyclable
75% LESS PLASTIC
Our wireless earphones product packaging underwent a refresh in 2019, where we reduced the plastic from a full inside front panel to a small strip placed on the side. Similarly the plastic inner tray has been reduced in size and the depth has been removed. We have also eliminated the use of magnets, previously used as a closing mechanism on the box, and reduced the amount of card by removing the front cover panel.
The limited use of plastic on our new packaging makes it easy to strip apart and separate for recycling.
COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS
As well as reducing the amount of plastic in our packaging, we are currently undertaking research into using compostable materials in production. We have recently introduced a fully compostable bag to package our new line of earphones for 2020 and beyond. These new bags conform to the EU harmonised and British Standard EN13432, which means when composted, they biodegrade within 12 weeks. Our MIXX G# and Tribute wired earphones ranges will be the first to include this new compostable bag. We are exploring the possibilities of taking this idea and applying it to the fabrication of our actual products, and whether compostable materials could work in the real world.
OUR COMMITMENT
As an organisation, we want to address the challenges of eliminating plastic pollution and to make a more positive environmental impact. We aim to do our bit to reduce the production of unnecessary single use plastics and look towards new ways of using recyclable and biodegradable materials. Rethinking our packaging is just the beginning.
Our promise is that once we achieve our goals, we will not stop there - we will look to further our internal, national and global environmental standards.
We are committed to continually improving and monitoring our ecological footprint as a company, managing our impact on the natural world, and ongoing compliance with environmental best practice.
More than this, we believe we are making new strides in the tech sphere to exceed best practice, and genuinely improve the environmental effects of all our trade activities. We believe in sustainable tech production and innovative products that leave an impression on its user, and not the planet.
*www.plasticoceans.org/the-facts
**Single use plastic and the marine environment, Seas at Risk.