Sydney-based supplier of compostable packaging for e-commerce, Hero Packaging, is on a mission to remove single-use plastic from packaging and shipping in Australia and globally, with its range of eco-friendly mailers.
Hero Packaging was founded by husband and wife duo, Vik Dave (chief operating officer) and Anaita Sarkar (chief executive officer), in 2018, after previously running an e-commerce fashion retail business.
Over time they became “horrified” by the realisation that a small business like theirs was producing so much waste – shipping over 80-100 products a day, all in plastic.
They believed there had to be a better way and set about researching alternatives to plastic mailers, initially coming across a paper-based packaging solution as a legitimate option, although they found it was not waterproof, so it wouldn’t work for their products.
Further research led them to several other companies around the world doing great things sustainably, such as a company that turns pineapple leaves into leather, but they were unable to find a single eco-friendly solution to completely replace plastic shipping mailers.
That’s the moment they decided to create this solution themselves, making sure that it covers their criteria of being compostable, waterproof and super durable to act like plastic during the shipping process.
“We were shipping in plastic mailers using standard Australia Post mailers or other non-branded plastic mailers, and over time we saw that as a real problem,” Dave said.
“While we were prototyping different shipping mailers we found out about certified home compostable materials, which could be reworked into different shapes, and out of that process Hero Packaging was born.”
To date, the company has saved over three million plastic mailers from entering the system through its eco-friendly range of Heropack shipping bags and its Herobubble padded mailers.
Unlike traditional shipping mailers, the Hero range is not made from any plastic, instead consisting of plant-based materials such as PLA and a certified compostable material called PBAT, which is a fancy name for what is essentially corn starch and bonding agents.
With the padded range, the mailers contain FSC-certified compostable paper, while the bubblepack padding is made up of home compostable materials.
Composting the mailers at home is a very simple process too – one just has to first remove any labels, then cut up the mailers before placing them in a compost bin as “brown” materials.
According to Hero Packaging, these will completely break down within 90-120 days in a home-compostable environment and can also be sent to composting facilities to be properly broken down.
Heropacks are certified under ABA's home compostable AS 5810, while the Herobubbles comply under the Australian Standard AS 4736.
“We have eco-friendly shipping labels too with certified compostable adhesive on the back, which we just launched in the last three months,” explains Dave.
“We are also currently trialling and refining our new range of compostable branding label sheets, as well as a compostable sticky tape, which we hope will end up completely replacing the use plastic-based tape in the shipping process.”
Hero Packaging currently partners with some of the biggest distributors globally and works with several small to large business around the world, including Beginning Boutique, Cue Clothing, Lush Cosmetics, Birdsnest, HoMie and Moana Bikini.
“Our goal is to reach a global scale where we reach that tipping point in which there is a lot of people in the market, there are lots of demands for home compostable material, therefore the production capacities increase,” Dave adds.
Over the next few months, the company is looking at expanding in the US, Canada, and Europe, before moving on towards emerging markets, such as in India and Asia.
Dave also says that they are currently looking into a new alternative material, which will essentially “revolutionise the way both physical retail stores and online operators can package their products”.
“We can’t mention too much now, but that new range is in the pipeline, and all we can say is that we are not locked into just home compostable materials – we are always on the lookout for any new technology to implement,” explains Dave.
“We see ourselves as a vehicle for any eco-friendly material, any technological innovation, or any eco-friendly materials to bring into the fold, and aim to get all of these products out there in the market as soon as possible.”
For more details on the Hero Packaging range of eco-friendly mailers, visit the company website here.
